Istanbul dams to be full by February: Official

Bülent Sarıoğlu - ISTANBUL

Istanbul has only three months of water left, but rainfalls expected in the coming weeks will fill up dams by February for enough water, the deputy director of State Hydraulic Works (DSİ) has said.

Oğuz Kasap told lawmakers in parliament that Turkey goes through such a drought every once in a decade.

According to Kasap, the water supply of the city is only sufficient for three months.

“However, with the rainfall in December, January and February, we think we won’t have any problems,” added Kasap.

Kasap stressed their priority is to open the Melen Dam that is set to supply water to Istanbul.

“Melen and the other dams that we are going to construct are important for us. We are working with all officials,” he said.

He said the Melen Dam is expected to be open by 2024 or 2025.

The Melen Project is a grandiose project initiated by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality to meet the water requirements of Istanbul until the year of 2071.

In an interview in November, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu said the dam would be ready by 2023.

“The Melen Dam appears it will be finished in February 2023. When we look at the filling time, at the end of the same year, Istanbul residents will have a dam that both produces their own energy and meets their water capacity widely throughout the year.”