As Turkey continues to suffer from its worst drought in a decade, Istanbul could run out of water within 45 days.
Sprawling urban development has been accused of drying up the city of 17 million people along with many of the other metropolises of the world by dams.
Water levels in the Omerli Dam, the main source of water in the region, are at their lowest level in the last 15 years, with a capacity of only 20% due to a lack of rain.
Meanwhile, Mayor Mansur Yavaş said that in dams and reservoirs there are just 110 days of water left in the capital Ankara. Turkey’s next two largest cities, Zmir and Bursa, have seen their dams drained to just 36 and 24 percent respectively.
The situation is so dire that in December, under the directive of the Presidency of Religious Affairs, mosques were ordered to pray for rain.
But water stores in the country have continued to decline, with rainfall dropping by 49% in November and below-average since then.
Turkey generates just 1,346 cubic metres of water per capita per year, rendering it a ‘water-stressed’ country. Since the 1980s, due to urban sprawl, industrialization, population growth, and climate change, it has faced a series of droughts.
Academic Sevinç Asilhan of the Istanbul Technical University said that, due to its geographical position, Turkey has a semi-arid climate and said the country’s reduction in the number of forests and green areas has made the drought more serious.
She told Hurriyet Daily News: ‘Natural environment, green areas, and forests should be protected and afforestation should be done for sustainable water resources.’
Water management expert at the Istanbul Policy Center Dr. Akgün İlhan told the Guardian: ‘Instead of focusing on measures to keep water demand under control, Turkey insists on expanding its water supply through building more dams.’Turkey has built hundreds of dams in the last two decades. The warning signs have been there for decades but not much has been done in practice.’
Dr. Ümit Şahin said: ‘In Istanbul, the most vital water basins, the last forests and agricultural land, [have been opened] to urban development projects: the new airport, the new Bosphorus bridge, its connection roads, and highways.’
On Monday, Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş introduced to the Metropolitan Municipality Council a new Radical Water Bill that would impose tariffs on the water in order to restrict its use.
On January 5, he said: ‘Our dam occupancy has decreased to 20 percent and we have 110 days of water left.
‘In order to prevent high consumption, there will be a gradual increase in invoices to use over 10 m³.’
Source: Daily Mail