Turkey faces risk of water shortage on Water Day

In a statement released yesterday, the Turkish Foundation for Reforestation, Protection of Natural Habitats and Combating Soil Erosion (TEMA) stressed that Turkey is not a water-rich country. “Potable water potential in the country is at an annual average of 112 billion cubic meters. Our country suffers from chronic water scarcity, with an annual 1,652 cubic meters per capita. TEMA considers water an invaluable natural heritage,” the statement read. TEMA General Manager Orhan Doğan said water is like money that is kept in a bank, and will quickly run out if you add nothing to it and just consume it. Stressing that almost 75 percent of water consumption goes to agriculture in Turkey, he said nearly 10 percent goes to domestic usage and the remaining 15 percent to industry.

Noting that employing modern irrigation techniques is a key way to save water, he said agricultural production will face more problems in the future and that there will be more water problems both in urban and arid areas in Turkey, stressing that Turkey needs more controls and good water management. “If the current improper usage of natural resources continues, this will be the leading cause of drought and desertification in Turkey. We should make smart use of our natural resources; their importance has not been fully understood yet. That’s why water and soil resources should be managed very carefully,” he said.

The Chamber of Geology Engineers also released a written statement to raise awareness about sustainable water usage projects. “As geology engineers, we once again say on World Water Day that projects should be designed while keeping in mind that water is an indispensable natural need not only for people but also for all of nature,” read the statement.

Turkey has to know and use its resources rationally in order to leave sufficient clean water for future generations and to avoid a severe water crisis given the expected of population increase in the country.

Every year, 1,500 cubic kilometers of wastewater are produced globally. While waste and wastewater can be reused productively for energy and irrigation, it usually is not. In developing countries 80 percent of all wastewater is discharged untreated, because of a lack of regulations and resources. And population and industrial growth add new sources of pollution and increased demand for clean water to the equation. Human and environmental health and drinking and agricultural water supplies for the present and future are at stake, but still water pollution rarely warrants mention as a pressing issue.

To do something about that, the UN has chosen “Clean Water for a Healthy World” as the theme for World Water Day 2010. The overall goal of World Water Day, on March 22, is to raise the profile of water quality at the political level so that water quality considerations are made alongside those of water quantity.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also issued a statement for World Water Day. Noting that Turkey should be aware of its water resources, he said the country should do its best to make use of them. “The importance of water has increased recently, as have alarming levels of air, soil and water pollution due to our rapid population increase and unplanned urbanization. That’s why the protection of water resources, their efficient usage and preventing water contamination are common goals around the world.  As the government, we are continuing our efforts to provide usable and clean water in the future,” the prime minister said.

According to the State Waterworks Authority (DSİ), Turkey receives 501 billion cubic meters of water from precipitation annually. Of that, 274 billion cubic meters of water evaporate and 41 billion cubic meters of water are fed to groundwater resources. Of the entire groundwater capacity, 14 billion cubic meters gush out of the ground as springs while 153 billion cubic meters make their way through rivers to seas or enclosed basins. With 7 billion cubic meters of water coming from neighboring countries, the gross water capacity of Turkey amounts to 234 billion cubic meters. Thus, Turkey’s overall surface water potential is 193 billion cubic meters. In the final analysis, Turkey has a total usable water potential of 112 billion cubic meters; yet, Turkey currently can make use of only 36 percent of it.

The DSİ is seeking methods to utilize the remaining 64 percent. Since Turkey has steep and broken terrain, most of its water capacity ends up in seas. With a surface area of 779.5 million hectares, Turkey has arable land of only 28 million hectares, of which only 25.85 million can be irrigated. The area of land that is irrigated using state-of-the-art methods is just 8.5 million hectares. Turkey’s potable water capacity is calculated to be 2,026 billion cubic meters, while industrial water use is 3,900 cubic meters.

The DSİ has been conducting studies in order to determine what must be done to fend off any water scarcity problem for the next 30 years. It recommends that Turkey build 730 dams to this end, an endeavor that will cost Turkey $128 million.

Based on demographic statistics provided by the Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat), the DSİ’s studies assume that Turkey’s population will be 100 million by 2030. Currently, per capita usable water is 1,642 cubic meters/ year. The per capita usable water amount will decrease to 1,000 cubic meters/year by 2030. Considering the existing rate of growth, the change in water consumption habits and other factors, certain pressures on water resources can be expected. Yet, these estimates apply only if current resources are preserved for the next 25 years. Therefore, Turkey has to know and use its resources rationally in order to leave clean and sufficient water to future generations.

A recent report by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) also said that if Turkey’s population reaches at least 80 million by 2030, annual per person water consumption in Turkey would be 1,100 cubic meters, which would spark a severe water crisis.