Red alert for water in Istanbul

The drought affecting all of Turkey continues to pose a serious threat to Istanbul. According to İSKİ data, the occupancy rate in the dams, which was 66 percent on October 21, 2015, has been measured at 21 percent as of this week. The current situation in the dams shows how seriously the drought poses a danger.

Water levels;

• 10.46 percent in Istrancalar

• 10.35 percent in Terkos

• 6.14 percent in Sazlıdere

• 22.96 percent in Alibey

• 4.08 percent in Büyükçekmece

• 44.88 percent in Ömerli

• 32.43 percent in Darlık

• 16.5 percent in Elmalı

• 3.35 percent in Pabuçdere

• 5.96 percent in Kazandere were recorded.

The amount of water in the dams and ponds that supply water to the city, which have a maximum water storage capacity of 868 million 683 thousand cubic meters, remained at the level of 182 million 5 thousand cubic meters. In 2023, 607 million cubic meters of water were drawn from Yeşilçay and Melen, which supply water to the city outside of the dams.

OCCUPANCY RATES OF THE LAST 9 YEARS

According to İSKİ statistics, the dam occupancy rates for October 21 were 66.22 percent in 2015, 40.43 percent in 2016, 51.69 percent in 2017, 52.76 percent in 2018, 44.37 percent in 2019, 32.07 percent in 2020, 47.03 percent in 2021, and 43.48 percent in 2022, while today's rate was recorded at only 21.01 percent. If sufficient rain and snowfall are not received this winter, long-term water cuts will be inevitable for Istanbul.