Ankara's Drinking Water Faces Contamination Allegations
Turkey's Ministry of Environment and Urbanization has filed a criminal complaint against the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality over alleged water contamination. The ministry claims that waste from the city's Sewerage Administration (ASKİ) has polluted the Gerede Basin, a key source of drinking water for the capital. The complaint cites negligence and raises concerns over public health.
- The Ministry's action follows inspections by the Bolu Provincial Directorate of Environment, which identified overflows from the ASKİ Gerede Wastewater Treatment Plant's collector line at three locations: Yazıkara, Üçpınar, and Ümit villages. - Untreated wastewater from these overflows was found to be mixing with the Gerede Işıklı Regulator Basin, a key source that feeds into Ankara's drinking water supply. - In addition to the criminal complaint, the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change has imposed an administrative fine of 2,098,000 Turkish Lira on ASKİ for the environmental violation. - The Ankara Metropolitan Municipality (ABB) has refuted the allegations that wastewater is contaminating the city's drinking water, stating that the water from the Gerede system is transported to the Çamlıdere Dam via a closed tunnel. - In its defense, the ABB noted that it undertook the investment in Gerede's wastewater collection line and treatment plant to protect the quality of the Çamlıdere Dam, even though the area is outside Gerede's municipal service boundaries. - The municipality has announced that it will legally challenge the administrative fine imposed by the ministry. - This incident occurs against a backdrop of broader concerns and political debate over Ankara's water infrastructure and the impacts of drought, with officials recently attributing water cuts to the driest period in 50 years and a rapidly growing population. - The Ankara Mayor, Mansur Yavaş, and the metropolitan municipality, run by the main opposition party (CHP), have faced other recent investigations authorized by the Interior Ministry concerning municipal zoning decisions and concert expenditures.
