Discharged wastewater continues to pose threat to Marmara Sea

ISTANBUL

Some 280 Olympic pool volume of wastewater is being discharged from Ergene River in Turkey’s northwest to the Marmara Sea every day, according to Greenpeace Mediterranean.

“Industrial wastes had made the Ergene River one of the most polluted streams in the world. Now, these wastes are carried to the depths of the Marmara Sea by pipes,” the NGO said in a statement.

Stressing that waste has been discharged into the Marmara Sea for 32 years and the oxygen level required for marine life is almost depleted, the organization warned that life in the inland sea will come to an end if more waste is discharged into this sea.

Greenpeace stated that the untreated wastewater discharged into the Ergene River is 700,000 cubic meters per day and 65 percent of this number is industrial waste.

“In other words, wastewater in the volume of 280 Olympic pools gets discharged from Ergene to Marmara every day,” the organization noted.

“Biological treatment is not and cannot be sufficient to treat chemical industry wastes. If we want to save Marmara, the valves that discharge industrial wastes into the sea must be closed immediately,” it added.

Representatives from several environmental groups often say that the solid waste in the river will be a grave threat to the natural life in the Marmara Sea, which is already suffering from contamination.