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The Armenian National Assembly on Wednesday passed in the second reading and in full the draft law proposing an additional water intake from Lake Sevan that can be used for irrigation this year.

The bill on making supplements to the law on approving the programs toward the restoration, preservation, reproduction and use of the ecosystem of Lake Sevan was adopted by 80 votes to one.

It passed the first parliamentary reading on Tuesday by a vote of 68 for and one against.

At the parliamentary debates before the voting, Yelk faction MP Aram Sargsyan stressed the need to develop a long-lasting program on the management of Armenia’s water resources.

The measure opposed by several dozen environmentalists would increase the amount of water intake from the lake by 40 million cubic meters to some 210 million cubic meters for the current season.

Previously, the government was allowed to use no more than 170 million cubic meters of Sevan’s water annually for irrigation purposes.