Istanbul breaks water consumption record in August: Expert

ISTANBUL

Making a warning over increasing water supply and demand, an expert has said that some 3.3 million cubic meters of water was consumed daily on average in August alone.

“Water-saving must be considered a national policy,” Ajlan Sunay, a board member of the Turkish Prevention of Wastage Foundation (TİSVA), told the state-run Anadolu agency on Sept. 1.

According to data from İSKİ, a public utility of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality responsible for water management, the water levels in dams of the metropolis have dropped from 67 percent to 57.7 percent in a month.

In August, around 240,000 cubic meters of more water was consumed in Istanbul.

“Daily average of water consumption reached 3.3 million cubic meters, which is a record,” data showed.

On Aug. 5, the water consumption reached nearly 3.5 million cubic meters.

When asked about the reason behind the rise, Sunay listed three reasons, putting “hot summers” at the top.

“We have been experiencing the hottest summers for a while. During these months, we use more water than usual,” Sunay said.

The increase in the city population and the pandemic conditions have triggered the rise,” she added.

Highlighted the importance of water saving, she said, “It must become a national policy and harsh warnings should be made against those who waste water.

Some 150 liters of daily water consumption per person is considered “normal” by experts. However, this number is 216 in Turkey.

“People think Turkey is a water-rich country. This is a mistake. The country is on a path to being a water-poor one,” Sunay warned.

She also gave tips on saving water, saying, “A dishwasher consumes an average of 12 liters of water. If you wash the same dishes at hand, you consume 100 liters.”

“A dripping tap may cause water wastage between 30 to 200 liters daily, so please turn off the taps tightly,” she added.