The Vachagan River once flowed through Kapan, the capital of Armenia’s Syunik province, down a series of man-made steps, delighting residents and visitors with the cascading image created.

Kapan Mayor Gevorg Parsyan wants to restore this stretch of the waterway to its past splendor but confesses it’s a huge undertaking.

The river flows eleven kilometers from the slopes of Mt. Khustup through Kapan until it joins the Voghji River.

The riverbed had become so full of trash that the municipality was forced to call in trucks and special cleaning equipment to haul the garbage away. Now, the vegetation is so lush that the water beneath is hard to see.

The river’s concrete steps and retaining walls must be rebuilt.

Parsyan tells Hetq the municipality has already built a small basin to collect alluvium.

Work on the river will begin next year. Mayor Parsyan says the municipality will apply for government funding and will use environmental taxes allocated to the community.