Gerede Creek has turned into a 'creek of death'... 355,000 people in over 100 villages are under threat!

Hazal Güven - 12punto.com.tr

Gerede Creek, which starts in the Gerede district of Bolu and extends to the Eskipazar district of Karabük, continues to threaten human and environmental health. The 288-kilometer-long creek, which passes through more than 100 villages, is used as a water source by approximately 355,000 people.

However, the water is spewing poison because domestic and industrial waste from factories in the Leather and Mixed Organized Industrial Zone in Gerede is being discharged into the creek. The main reason for the pollution, which has been ongoing for about 10 years, is that waste is being discharged into Gerede Creek without undergoing any treatment process.

There has been a significant decrease in the number and variety of fish living in the creek over the years. The hearing for the lawsuit filed by local residents against the Bolu Governorship Provincial Directorate of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change regarding the waste causing pollution and odors in the surrounding villages will be held tomorrow at 10:50 AM at the Bolu Courthouse.

İlhan Armağan, President of the 'Gerede Creek Should Flow Clean' Platform, which was established against the pollution that has been increasing to this day, said in a statement to 12punto, "The Gerede Creek case is not a water case, it is a life case. With its 288-kilometer length, Gerede Creek was not just a creek; it was a source of life that flowed through villages and cities where 355,000 people live and brought them to life."

Stating that "This creek now directly threatens not only the environment but the entire Western Black Sea region it passes through, human health, and all living things," İlhan Armağan made the following remarks:

'IT HAS TURNED INTO A POISON LINE'

"Most of the 70-80 factories in the Leather Specialized Organized Industrial Zone in Gerede, as well as the gelatin, textile dyeing, and bone meal facilities in the Mixed OIZ, are businesses that use water for production and carry high pollution potential. Although so-called treatment plants have been shown for years, these facilities do not actually treat the water. With chemical waste being discharged directly into Gerede Creek, this place has turned into a poison line."

NOT GEREDE CREEK, BUT THE CREEK OF DEATH!

Reminding that a person living in the region lost their life due to poisoning from the water in 2023, Armağan continued his words as follows:

"This creek now directly threatens not only the environment but the entire Western Black Sea region it passes through, human health, and all living things. It passes through our villages, irrigates agricultural fields, animals, and fruit trees; it also carries the risk of contaminating our drinking water sources.

On January 10, 2023, people in a village in Bolu were poisoned by drinking water, and unfortunately, one of our citizens lost their life. Just last week, on May 15, 2025, 80 people were poisoned again due to drinking water in four different villages in Bolu. This situation is no longer an issue that can be ignored."

'WASTE IS BEING RELEASED FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE DAM PROVIDING DRINKING WATER!'

Stating that the point where the chemical waste in question is released is right next to the dam that provides drinking water to the region, Armağan said:

"The waste line coming from Gerede passes right next to the dam that provides drinking water to Ankara and is released into the creek from a point very close to it. What kind of negligence is this, what kind of lack of seriousness is this? Is human life this worthless?

Even today, on May 19, the Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day, poison continues to flow into Gerede Creek. However, some politicians still deny this reality and continue to mislead the public. We have waged our struggle not only for the environment but for human life, the rights of all living things, and all of nature. During this process, we held numerous meetings with the governor and the provincial director of environment in Bolu; with the district governor, mayor, industrialists, and OIZ managers in Gerede. We held meetings with ministers, general managers, and department heads in Ankara. Written parliamentary questions were submitted to the TBMM 4 times. A documentary was filmed for the 'Yeşil Doğa' (Green Nature) program on CNN Türk, and these records were delivered to Emine Erdoğan. Although there was a small movement with her instruction, the result did not change."

'GEREDE MAYOR IS DECEIVING THE PUBLIC'

"Unfortunately, a cycle of irresponsibility has been established. Some of the village headmen are silent or are being silenced for personal gain. Some remain silent in exchange for service tenders, some for forestry cutting jobs, and some for jobs obtained from the municipality. Others do not speak out by getting their children or relatives placed in the municipality or the organized industrial zone. OIZ administrations try to prevent public reaction by hiring personnel, especially from the villages most affected by the pollution. The Mayor of Gerede, on the other hand, has been openly deceiving the public for years. Just recently, at a meeting he attended upon a citizen's question, he claimed that 95% of the waste was treated and that it was not discharged into the creek without treatment in any way. However, just 2 days after this statement, a new discharge point was detected from a different village. Institutions, under the influence of politics and industrialists, cannot make independent decisions."

HEARING TOMORROW

Speaking about the hearing to be held tomorrow for the lawsuit filed by local residents against the Bolu Governorship Provincial Directorate of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, İlhan Armağan said, "There is no reason for a decision not to be made in our favor."

Armağan expressed the following:

"Before the hearing on May 20, analyses of water samples taken from Gerede Creek were conducted in accredited laboratories, and the results came out at terrifying levels. We have presented these reports to the court along with their documents. Everything is concrete and clear with its evidence. There is no reason for a decision not to be made in our favor here. We do not want this creek to spew poison, our people to get sick, or our children's future to be darkened. This is our open call to the Governorship, the authorities, and the public: Please consider human health, nature, and our future before money and rent. This is not just an environmental case; this is a humanitarian issue. Because if we do not win, our children will lose."