In Georgia, delay in infrastructure projects accentuates issues with wastewater management
In the Georgian coastal town of Poti, often likened to a "Little Paris" due to its charming, low-rise architecture and well-planned streets, a pungent odor of raw sewage permeates the air, rendering the town center nearly uninhabitable. Despite efforts to modernize Poti's infrastructure, sewage spills remain a persistent issue on certain streets, spilling onto sidewalks and emptying into open drains.
Evidence captured by local media outlet Tspress in 2019 illustrates fecal matter flowing through broad channels into the Rioni River, which then discharges the contaminated water directly into the Black Sea. Intolerable conditions in Poti are not an exception; numerous cities and towns across Georgia struggle with untreated wastewater from aging sewage systems, which are allowed to flow untreated into rivers and eventually into the sea.
Georgia stands out in the Caucasus and Central Asia in terms of wastewater treatment, according to United Nations data. The country treats approximately 48 percent of its household sewage, compared to Azerbaijan's 41 percent and Armenia's less than 1 percent. However, Georgia ranks in the bottom third of countries in terms of integrated water resources management, as established by a sustainable development goal set by the UN.
Industrial waste is an additional concern. Data from the National Environmental Agency shows that ammonium nitrogen (NH4-N) is the main pollutant in Georgian rivers, with excessive levels recorded at over one-third of monitoring points between 2018 and 2021. These high levels were detected at all observation points along the Rioni River and most rivers in the Rioni Basin, as well as in the Enguri and Khobi river basins. Moreover, high levels of heavy metals have been found in the Kvirila, Mashavera, and Kazretula rivers, due in part to the lack of modern filtration systems at many enterprises.
Industrial sources of pollution include the Kazreti copper and gold enrichment plants, the Chiatura manganese deposits, the manganese enrichment plant, and the Tkibuli coal deposits, all of which contaminate water with heavy metals and hazardous particles. In Chiatura, 64-year-old Marina Sadunishvili has spent her entire life. Sadunishvili recalls that since the city began processing manganese, she has not seen the natural color of the Kvirila River. During the Soviet era, she worked at a factory that washed manganese, and she describes trapping sludge and transferring it from one place to another. After the plant's closure, the sludge was allowed to flow directly into the river. Georgian Manganese did not respond to queries regarding environmental conditions at the former plant or the effort to clean up the Kvirila River.
Kakha Guchmanidze, an environmentalist, noted that conditions are relatively better in Tbilisi and Batumi, where sewage systems are more efficient, and there are treatment plants and drainage pumping stations. However, malfunctions are common. According to Guchmanidze, the Batumi treatment plant emits harmful gases into the atmosphere and produces a strong odor due to various factors, including the failure to capture generated gases through the appropriate technological cycle and neutralize them.
Tbilisi is served by the Gardabani Urban Wastewater Treatment Plant. Monitoring data from the National Environmental Agency reveals that ammonium nitrogen levels exceeded acceptable limits in the Mtkvari River at the Zahesi, Vakhushti Bridge, and Metekhi Bridge intersections, suggesting that wastewater is bypassing the collector and being discharged untreated. In many villages across Georgia, the absence of sewage systems results in water contaminated with nitrogen and various harmful substances entering rivers. In some villages, cesspools are used.
Although construction of wastewater infrastructure is ongoing, progress is slow. As of 2021, nine urban wastewater treatment plants were in operation in Georgia. In the same year, 76.2 million cubic meters of polluted water flowed into Georgia's surface waters, about 96 percent of which originated from the domestic sector. By 2023, approximately half the country's population, or 1.98 million people, were connected to the sewage system, a slight increase from the previous year.
Poti serves as a microcosm of infrastructure challenges. In 2016, an Azerbaijani company, Azeragrartikinti, began a $37 million project to develop Poti's sewage system and construct a treatment plant. However, performance issues led to the termination of the contract. Two new tenders, worth 135 million GEL (approximately $48 million), were awarded to Dutch, German, and Italian firms. However, a 2020 deadline remains unfulfilled.
Residents in Poti report that the construction of sewage networks on many streets was completed a year ago, but these channels have not yet been integrated into a unified system and thus remain inoperative. City officials did not respond to queries about the delays.
"The sewage network is still only in the town center buildings, and it's old - built during the Soviet era. It hasn't been connected to the outlying streets," a resident remarked, declining to provide his name. "We have a concrete well, and we call a truck once or twice a year to drain the sewage, but I'm uncertain of its destination."
- In Poti, where environmental issues persist despite modernization efforts, news reports reveal that industrial pollution significantly contributes to the contamination of the Rioni River and the Black Sea, with high levels of ammonium nitrogen and heavy metals found in various rivers.
- Despite Georgia's relatively better wastewater treatment compared to neighboring countries, environmentalists like Kakha Guchmanidze highlight the need for improving drainage systems and sewage treatment plants, such as the Batumi treatment plant that emits harmful gases into the atmosphere.
- The sports city of Batumi might have a better sewage system than other cities in Georgia, but the news about malfunctions and the emission of harmful gases from the Batumi treatment plant indicate that there is still room for progress in environmental-science and technology, particularly in terms of waste management and pollution reduction.
