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In Armenia, around 65 % of the total water demand is met by surface water resources, for which Lake Sevan is the main source. High water demand on Lake Sevan places continuous pressure on hydrological and ecological condition of the Lake. Meanwhile, Armenia had a remarkable increase in gross agricultural productivity (61 % increase between 2008-2018), at a cost of using a tremendous amount of phosphate fertilisers (almost 75 times more in 2015 compared to 2008) which caused increasing phosphate concentrations in rivers (More information in Chapter 6). Since then, pumping water from groundwater resources has been seen as a viable option, with 41 % increase of water abstraction for agriculture and drinking purposes. Similarly, poor treatment of urban discharge exacerbates the deterioration of the surface water quality and intensifies the pressures on groundwater resources, particularly in downstream areas of urban settlements. In parallel to increasing trends in water abstraction from groundwater, water irrigation in Armenia has also increased by 21 % between 2011-2018 (Statistical Committee of the Republic of Armenia, 2020a).