Submerged village revealed after drop in rainfall

İZMİR/ANKARA

A submerged village has been revealed after a drop in rainfall that led to a decline in the water level in a dam, also exposing a historical mosque and its minaret.

The water level in Tahtalı Dam in the Aegean province of İzmir, which received little rainfall in the last summer and this autumn, decreased significantly, checking the water volume of the dams providing drinking water to the city.

While the occupancy rate was around 65 percent in December 2019, it stood at 35 percent this year.

With the decrease in the water level in the dam, the ruins of the Eski Buruncuk village have surfaced along with a mosque and its minaret. The accumulation of mussels in the ruined buildings near the mosque has also been drawing quite an attention.

It was stated that the amount of usable water in the dam as of Dec. 2 was 101.6 million cubic meters.

The ruins of Eski Buruncuk, abandoned in 1930, was mainly built using stones from an ancient city, Larissa, which is thought to date back to around 3,000 B.C., although the main development took place during the seventh century B.C.

Meanwhile, the General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works (DSİ) reported that there is sufficient occupancy in the dams across the country, and there is no problem in meeting the needs.

Nearly 60 percent of the water coming to the storage facilities originates from the melting of snow, and the water flows occur in the March-June period, according to a statement.

“It would not be very correct to evaluate the occupancy rates of the dams and reach the conclusion that our water is insufficient according to their current conditions,” it said in the statement, noting that the flows are above the average as of March and increase the occupancy rates.

The daily drinking and utility water need of Istanbul is 3 million cubic meters on average, and there is enough water stored in the reservoirs to meet the needs of the people for about two and a half months in case there is no rainfall, according to the statement.

It was stated that the current occupancy rate in the dams in the capital Ankara was 12 percent, and this rate was the same as last year.

The city can serve the water needs for up to four and a half months in the absence of rainfall, it said in the statement.

The statement also emphasized the importance of using water judiciously and that the citizens, while consuming water as much as they need, should take care of not wasting water and act responsibly towards water conservation.