Istanbul Water Outage

ISTANBUL FACES A SERIOUS WATER PROBLEM EVERY SEASON

• The Union of Chambers of Turkish engineers and architects (TMMOB) Chamber of Chemical Engineers stated that Istanbul is in danger of great thirst due to the Melen dam not yet holding water. “Istanbul faces a serious water problem at any time after every dry season due to the failure of the Great Melen Drinking Water Project,” the written statement said.

• The Union of Chambers of Turkish engineers and architects (TMMOB) Chamber of Chemical Engineers issued a written press release on December 8 on the thirst that may occur in Istanbul.

ISTANBUL'S DAILY WATER CONSUMPTION IS ABOUT 3 MILLION CUBIC METERS

• Covid - 19 epidemic due to the increase in water use and 2020 year 2019 more drought than the danger of drought is growing and 2021 drought continues to turn into a disaster stressed TMMOB, “the large Melen Drinking Water Supply project tendered in 2000 should have been completed years ago, but still has not been completed. Today, Istanbul's average daily water consumption is about 3 million cubic meters.

• Of these three million cubic meters of water, about 1.5 million cubic meters of Melen Project 1. It is supplied from stage and Yeşilçay system. The remaining approximately 1.5 million cubic meters of water consumed by Istanbul is supplied from the old water sources of Istanbul,” he shared.

ISTANBUL IS IN DANGER OF THIRST DUE TO THE MELEN DAM, WHICH DOES NOT HOLD WATER

• As of December 7, the occupancy rate in Istanbul's existing Water Resources has fallen to 23 percent, TMMOB said, “the tender for the Melen dam, which was required to be tendered in 2004, was delayed for eight years in 2012, and although the dam was finished, it has become impossible to hold water due to deep cracks in its body. According to the AKP, Istanbul faces a serious water problem at any time after every dry season due to the failure of the Great Melen Drinking Water Project, which should solve Istanbul's water problem by 2071 and in fact by 2040.

• Istanbul, whose daily water needs are constantly increasing due to the rapidly growing population and urbanization, is now in danger of great thirst due to the Melen dam, which cannot hold water. Every dry season, increasing urbanization, population and ongoing epidemic are now a major threat to Istanbul in terms of water,” he said.

• TMMOB, which stated that the daily amount of water consumed in Istanbul in 2020 is 3 million 70 thousand cubic meters, said: “in 2019, this consumption, which is 2 million 900 thousand cubic meters, has increased by 170 thousand cubic meters per day on average for this year. Ömerli, Darlik, Terkos, Büyük Çekmece, Alibey dams and Melen and Yeşilçay systems attract the water load of Istanbul. As of today, 1 million 526 thousand cubic meters of water is drawn daily from Melen and Yeşilçay systems. There is a significant increase in the amount of water drawn compared to 2019,” he said.

IT IS STATED THAT MELEN WILL BE REPAIRED AND DELIVERED IN 2030 AT THE EARLIEST

• Melen dam body due to cracks in the water retention due to the reasons arising in the Istanbul water and Sewerage Administration (ISKI) delivery is delayed reminding TMMOB, “the dam will be repaired and delivered in 2030 at the earliest. If the rainfall goes like this, more water will be taken from the Melen system. For this reason, it is possible to get more water from Melen tea by building a new Water Conversion structure and installing pump systems.

• However, the third transmission line between Melen dam and Cumhuriyet Water Treatment Plant has still not been built, although years have passed. In addition, three of the 4 Melen project Cumhuriyet treatment plants, each with a capacity of 720 thousand cubic meters/day, have not yet been built. Therefore, the water that can be obtained from the Melen dam is unfortunately limited depending on these conditions,” he said.

ISTANBUL PROPERTY DAM OCCUPANCY RATES WILL NEVER EXCEED 50 PERCENT

• January and February rainfall, especially dams and underground water feeding snowfall occurs in the months of TMMOB, “even in the case of snowfall, Istanbul dam occupancy rate is already very low because it will not increase much. Istanbul dams enter 2021 at half the level of last year's occupancy as of occupancy rates.

• Even if the rains continue next year, the maximum occupancy rate at the dams will never exceed 50 percent. Because already the water resources of Istanbul on the Thracian Peninsula are almost completely drained. If the drought continues next year, even the additional water to be taken from Melen will not be able to solve Istanbul's water problem, Istanbul will remain dehydrated,” he said.

A CULTURE OF WATER SAVING MUST BE CREATED IN ISTANBUL, TURKEY

TMMOB listed the measures to be taken as follows:

• “In Istanbul, which already has a water transmission line with a length of 21 thousand kilometers, the rate of loss and leakage, which is about 30 percent, should be reduced to 10 percent with improvements made in the networks. Garden irrigation, carpet, car washing should be banned. A culture of water saving should be created in order to implement measures that encourage saving in daily use. In the same way, the Isaköy and Sungurlu dams, which were tendered, should be built and an additional 190 million cubic meters of water should be taken annually.”

ISTANBUL TOTAL DAM OCCUPANCY RATES ON 2020 DECEMBER 1-10

Marmara occupancy rates in Istanbul's dams, which ISKI shared on December 1-10, and the amount of water given to Istanbul city are as follows:

• 1 December; amount of water given: 2 million 748 thousand cubic meters-occupancy rate: 24.50 percent

• 2 December; amount of water given: 2 million 767 thousand cubic meters-occupancy rate: 24.30 percent

• 3 December: amount of water supplied: 2 million 793 thousand cubic meters-occupancy rate: 24.04 percent

• 4 December: amount of water supplied: 2 million 796 thousand cubic meters-occupancy rate: 23.78 percent

• 5 December: amount of water supplied: 2 million 844 thousand cubic meters-occupancy rate: 23.54 percent

• 6 December: amount of water supplied: 2 million 874 thousand cubic meters-occupancy rate: 23.30 percent

• 7 December: amount of water supplied: 2 million 811 thousand cubic meters-occupancy rate: 23.06 percent

• 8 December: amount of water supplied: 2 million 788 thousand cubic meters-occupancy rate: 22.88 percent

• 9 December: amount of water supplied: 2 million 746 thousand cubic meters-occupancy rate: 22.66 percent

• 10 December: the amount of water given is not yet announced ( as the day continues) - occupancy rate: 22.39 percent