DEVA Party's Karal: How many days of water are left in Istanbul's dams?

The drought in Istanbul and the amount of water in the dams have been brought to the Parliament. DEVA Party Istanbul MP Hasan Karal, in a parliamentary question submitted to the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM), asked Minister of Agriculture and Forestry İbrahim Yumaklı, “How many days of water are left in the dams supplying water to the mega-city?”

DEVA Party Deputy Chairman and Istanbul MP Hasan Karal submitted a parliamentary question to the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) for the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry İbrahim Yumaklı to answer.

Emphasizing that according to Istanbul Water and Sewerage Administration (İSKİ) data, the occupancy rate in the dams, which was 21.12 percent on October 20 and 18.59 percent on October 31, fell to 18.59 percent as of November 1, Karal noted that rainfall in September and October remained far below expectations, and the occupancy rate in the dams supplying water to Istanbul fell below 20 percent, reaching the lowest level for the same period in the last 16 years.

In his parliamentary question, Karal stated, “According to İSKİ's November 1 data, the amount of water in the dams supplying water to Istanbul is 39.95 percent in Ömerli Dam, 29.75 percent in Darlık Dam, 14.5 percent in Elmalı Dam, 8.51 percent in Terkos Dam, 19.43 percent in Alibey Dam, 3.86 percent in Büyükçekmece Dam, 3.53 percent in Sazlıdere Dam, 22.81 percent in Istrancalar Dam, 7.12 percent in Kazandere Dam, and 3.66 percent in Pabuçdere Dam. The surface area of the dams has also shrunk by 18 percent compared to last year. The amount of water in the dams and ponds supplying water to the city, which has a maximum water storage capacity of 868 million 683 thousand cubic meters, has remained at the level of 172 million 76 thousand cubic meters.”

‘WHAT PATH IS BEING FOLLOWED?’

MP Hasan Karal sought answers to the following questions in the motion he submitted for Minister of Agriculture and Forestry İbrahim Yumaklı to answer:

“As of November 1, how many days of water are left in the dams supplying water to Istanbul to sustain the mega-city? Is an emergency action plan being considered to ensure water supply to Istanbul and increase the occupancy rates in the dams? What are the measures taken regarding water conservation in Istanbul? What path is being followed and what kind of work is being done to combat drought across the country? How many provinces across Turkey are facing water shortages? Are measures being taken against the increased reproduction of living microorganisms and bacteria and the decline in water quality due to the decrease in water depth?”

News Source: 12punto