Major crisis at the door in Istanbul

Istanbul Water and Sewerage Administration (İSKİ) General Manager Şafak Başa stated in a social media post that Istanbul's water resources are sounding the alarm. Başa noted that dam occupancy rates have dropped to the 20 percent level, marking the lowest level in the last decade.

According to data provided by İSKİ, the occupancy rate in 5 of the 10 dams supplying water to Istanbul has fallen below 20 percent. Specifically, occupancy rates at the Kazandere and Pabuçdere dams were measured at 1.97 percent and 3.89 percent, respectively. The situation in the other dams is as follows: Istrancalar 20.78 percent, Terkos 22.61 percent, Sazlıdere 19.76 percent, Alibey 12.5 percent, Büyükçekmece 22.13 percent, Ömerli 17.83 percent, Darlık 22.99 percent, and Elmalı 50.68 percent.

Başa issued a call to citizens, saying, "We are experiencing an extraordinarily dry period. For our future, please reduce our individual water consumption by at least 10 percent." Stating that water consumption in Istanbul continues to rise, Başa added, "Yesterday, we used 3,097,713 m3 of water in Istanbul. Our dam occupancy rates have fallen to the 20% level. This rate is THE LOWEST LEVEL OF THE LAST TEN YEARS. We are experiencing an extraordinarily dry period. The expected November rainfall is not sufficient."