‘Water can be brought from Sakarya River to Istanbul’

ISTANBUL

If the expected rainfall does not occur in the coming period in Istanbul, where the water reserves rate in the dams have decreased to 30 percent, water can be brought from Sakarya River in the northwestern province, while some experts have pointed out heavy metal pollution in the river.

In case of the continuation of the drought, the megacity might experience a serious water shortage in the summer months, according to the experts.

In such a case, the authorities may decide to withdraw water from Sakarya River as well as Melen stream.

On the other hand, many experts stated that the water of Sakarya River should not be utilized due to intense pollution.

“Sakarya’s water is considered as an alternative solution in case of a possible water crisis. However, the water source in the region is severely polluted, of third or even fourth grade quality. Since the treatment with chlorination alone will be insufficient, you need to carry out further purification and filter applications,” stated Dursun Yıldız, the head of the Water Policy Association.

“The Cumhuriyet Treatment Facility on the Anatolian side of Istanbul is an advance facility, but even if it operates at full capacity, we do not know how much of the heavy metal can be treated,” Yıldız expressed.

In the report on the Sakarya River prepared by experts at the Istanbul Branch of the Chamber of Environmental Engineers, it is stated that the water quality in the basin is in the category of highly polluted.

The report also emphasized that the basin of the river is a region where industrial activity is most intense in Türkiye.

“Untreated industrial wastewater discharges and pollutants from agricultural and livestock activities have been identified as sources of pollution in the river,” the report stated.

“Some districts and organized industrial zones located by the river discharge their water directly to Sakarya River without treatment.”