Drought in Aegean provinces leaves farmers waterless

The DSI has devised a project to supply water for 150,000 hectares of farmland out of a total 280,000 hectares in need of irrigation. Noting that streams such as the Küçük Menderes and Bakırçay are completely dry, the Izmir DSI manager said they have determined which farmers will receive water for how long and in what quantities. The waterworks authority does not expect problems to continue if there is precipitation next year but still recommends that precautionary measures be adopted. Sarıyıldız warned that Manisa and Uşak are expected to experience water shortages as well.

DSI Manisa Branch Manager Bilgin Telek said they would not supply water to second crops on the Gediz Plain because of the drought. Noting that water levels in Demirköprü, Afşar and Gölmarmara dams have dropped by 50 percent since last year, Telek said they have taken a series of measures to conserve the current water level.

In Aydın, waterworks institutions have agreed to adopt a policy in order to survive the drought with the least harm done. As part of the new policy, the gendarmerie will be responsible for controlling the fair distribution of water to the districts. Four major meetings have been held in Aydın in the last three months to address water problems during which the formation of the Great Menderes Basin 2007 General Irrigation Plan Development and Implementation Commission was agreed. As part of the irrigation plan developed by the commission, farmers were supplied with water for their crops during the month of April, but irrigation channels have been shut down until summer. Aydın Regional General Assembly and Aydın Chamber of Agriculture members have applied to the Ministry of Agriculture to declare Aydın a disaster area. Continuous water cuts in the region have caused the most concern for producers of more than one crop. The DSI has launched a program to supply water to all agricultural lands in rotation, and work is under way to supply water for second crops that don’t require excessive water such as sunflowers, melons and watermelons.

DSI Balıkesir 25th Division Manager Şahin Durukan warned that lower water levels and low precipitation could cause drought in the summer season in Balıkesir as well. The water levels of the Çaygören dam, which supplies water to the Sındırgı, Bigadiç, Balıkesir and Kepsut basins, is extremely low.

However, Durukan added that measures have been taken. The waterworks administration has banned rice farming in Manyas and Karacabey because the water level of Lake Manyas is only at around 33 percent of capacity.  The 22,688 hectares of agricultural land in Balıkesir is irrigated with water from five dams and 22 reservoirs in the province. “The dams have a water storage capacity of 620 million cubic meters. Ponds have 22 million cubic meters. At the end of April, 382 million cubic meters of water was collected in the dams and reservoirs, changing them from 27 to 87 percent full,” Durukan said.

Balıkesir Governor Selahattin Hatipoğlu said the water in Lake Manyas is only enough for one-fourth of the amount needed for agriculture and added that they have banned the production of rice. As part of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, known as the Ramsar Convention, Lake Manyas, which is also known as Manyas Bird Heaven, must be protected and its water must not drop beyond a certain level, Hatipoğlu said. Manyas Provincial District Governor Result Çelik said there are normally around 60,000 acres of rice paddies each year but that this year there will only be 10,000 acres because of the drought. Residents will not be able to receive water from Lake Manyas, Çelik said, noting that the public has been informed of their decision and that they will continue controlling the water supply.

Officials from the DSI 25th Division noted that there were no water problems in most provincial dams. The Atikhisar dam in the province of Çanakkale has a storage capacity of 52.5 million cubic meters of water, currently holding 29,653 cubic meters. The Bayramiç dam, which has a capacity of 88 million cubic meters, has over 86 million cubic meters of water. The Gökçeada Zeytinli dam, which has a capacity to hold 14.5 million cubic meters of water, has 12.7 million cubic meters of water at present. The Gelibolu Tayfur dam, which has a storage capacity of 4.5 million cubic meters, currently is filled with 4.4 million cubic meters. The Biga Bakacak dam, which has a capacity of 139 million cubic meters, has 59.8 million cubic meters of water.

The DSI is also allowing a controlled supply of water for farmers in Denizli. DSI 21st Division Manager Halil Ibrahim Indap said water levels have dropped by half, from 1.2 billion cubic meters to 668 million cubic meters in one year.

“We need to conserve water to survive the year with the least damage. … We have recommend that farmers to cultivate crops that don’t need a lot of water,” Indap said, noting that farmers are not completely aware of the danger.

Mehmet Güzel, the mayor of Konya’s Cihanbeyli district, said there has been no rain of any consequence in the past two months, causing water shortages for agricultural fields in the province.

The water level of the Tuz Lake has dropped because of low precipitation over the past two years. Farmers are distressed because their crops are drying, Güzel said, adding that the drought had reached serious levels in the city.