Turkey rations water as cities hit by drought
Pastor Dale Morgan
Turkey rations water as cities hit by drought*
Associated Press in Ankara
Friday August 3, 2007
The Guardian
Turkey's two major cities are grappling with water shortages after
record low levels of snow and rain in the winter and searing summer
temperatures.
Reservoirs are less than 5% full in the capital, Ankara, home to 4
million people, according to the country's water authority. On Wednesday
the municipality began a water restriction policy of two days on, two
days off.
A project to divert water from a nearby river was launched in March, but
the water is not expected to reach the city until November. Authorities
were considering delaying the start of the school year until mid-October
to avert the spread of disease, according to the mayor, Melih Gokcek.
Hospitals were being supplied with ground water carried by tankers.
Water cuts could be increased to four days, the Ankara water department
director, Ihsan Fincan, said yesterday. The municipality was planning to
send 16,000 of its employees on summer vacation to save on water in the
city, he said.
The reservoirs of Istanbul, a city of more than 10 million, have
sufficient water to last another three to four months, according to
water authority estimates.
Istanbul has no plans to impose similar water cuts, its mayor, Kadir
Topbas, said. The city was also trying to divert water from nearby rivers.
Mustafa Cagrici, the mufti or chief cleric of Istanbul, told the private
news channel NTV yesterday that special prayers were being said across
the city for rain. "In times of trouble, it is natural for people to
seek Allah's help for problems that they cannot solve," he said.
Sales of large plastic water containers have surged in Ankara and
elsewhere, with residents stockpiling water, Posta newspaper reported.
Sales of bottled drinking water were also up.