Nothing is as it seems from the city

The economic crisis is on the agenda of city dwellers, while another crisis is on the agenda of the rural population: Water scarcity!

The water crisis has hit production.

No one is talking about it. Irrigation unions have imposed restrictions on producers.

No one is talking about it.

Consumers will realize this when water stops flowing from their taps. But it will be too late.

Our media will also put the water crisis on the agenda when water rationing begins. It will be way too late.

But everyone will be talking then.

We spent months filming in the field. With one minute to midnight on water scarcity, we laid the facts bare.

The memorable premiere of our documentary “BEFORE THE WATERS MUDDY” (Sular Bulanmadan) was held at the Atatürk Cultural Center. City dwellers who watched the film for the first time gave a standing ovation to the producers they saw on stage, who are searching for solutions to the water crisis.

Nothing is as it seems from the city. I know that those who watched the film have valued the water flowing from their taps more ever since, and are now using the existing water sparingly. But the media must also turn its head and look at the water crisis we are about to experience deeply.

As a journalist and documentarian, I documented the water crisis in the field with our documentary “Before the Waters Muddy,” and I recorded for history what is happening due to the government's misguided agricultural policies. While our documentary, which the media showed no interest in, was being screened,

The occupancy rate of the Tahtalı Dam, which meets the drinking water needs of İzmir, dropped to 16 percent. The Tahtalı Dam is experiencing its second-worst October in its history. Water restrictions could begin in Balıkesir at any moment. The water level of the İkizcetepeler Dam, which provides drinking and utility water to the city center, has dropped to 12 percent due to the recent seasonal drought.

What we saw in the field while filming our documentary “Before the Waters Muddy” was chilling.

Producers are helpless in the face of water scarcity. Water management policies have not been implemented. Our existing water is also spreading poison.

But no one is talking about it!

The Büyük Menderes, the water source of the Söke Plain, Turkey's richest agricultural region, is under a stranglehold of poison from industrial facilities on both sides. Irrigation unions allocate this dirty, toxic water to producers. The tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants we eat, and the cotton clothes we wear, contain the waste of this dirty water. The Büyük Menderes River flows red in some places and pink in others due to textile industry waste.

No one is talking about the rising cancer cases.

Public interest journalism has been forgotten. Our media, mainstream and opposition alike, is collectively following the agenda set by the government.

While our media is tossed about in the changing agenda, network water losses have reached the 30-40 percent level.

But no one is talking about it!

The water loss in the city network, which reaches up to 50 percent, is a very serious issue that must be addressed with care.

But no one is talking about it, no one is bringing it up, no one is reporting on it!

We must act as a country and raise our voices to start an urgent water mobilization.

And we must speak up now. We threw the first stone with our documentary.

“Before the Waters Muddy” is on YouTube today!