Drought is not at the door, it is inside the house!

At this time last year, we were tracing the effects of drought in the Büyük Menderes Basin and the Söke Plain. While filming our documentary, I had goosebumps. Because the water crisis was manifesting itself not only through scarcity but also through extreme pollution. Due to textile factories polluting the Büyük Menderes, the water was flowing red in some places. Farmers were irrigating their crops with water where fish deaths had begun. Children were eating fruit irrigated with that water!

“BEFORE THE WATERS ARE MUDDIED” is perhaps the most painful and heart-touching of the documentaries I have produced to date. Because we will continue to feel the bitter truth to our bones as the days go by.

Unless we take precautions, we may pay for it with our lives.

Cancer cases have increased significantly. There is a major rise in childhood cancers. Is the cause being investigated? No.

The political agenda is completely different!

At the end of 2024, 70% of 30 different samples taken from the Büyük Menderes River showed contamination at levels that should not be used in agricultural activities. Illegal industrial discharges into agricultural irrigation canals remain a significant threat.

In some parts of the region, a decision has been made to switch to dry farming.

Surface water resources in the region are at their lowest level in the last 30 years!

As of April 2025, the amount of rainfall in Aydın was 45% lower than the long-term average. As a direct result of this, there was a contraction of nearly 20% in cotton and corn production areas. According to data from the Söke Chamber of Agriculture, some farmers have been forced to withdraw from production entirely.

An out-of-season frost has also been added to the picture. The sudden drop in temperature at the end of March hit plum and apricot trees in particular. According to a report by the Ege University Faculty of Agriculture, bud loss in fruit trees reached 80% in some regions. This means that in the coming months, we will not be able to find some fruits at all. Our farmers are exhausted and discouraged!

The solution is left entirely to the mercy of nature!

What we are experiencing is making us pay not only for the effects of climate change but also for the price of water management policies that have been postponed for years. The problem is not in the weather conditions; it is in the planning, the infrastructure, and the oversight!

Urgent, very urgent action must be taken.

The soil no longer needs just water, it also needs hope. If we do not act today, tomorrow we will face not only drought, but lost lives!