Mediterranean Action Plan

TURKEY - National Study
Table 47 The GAP and Turkey comparative figures for hydropower [137]
Water consumption was 34 billion m3 in 1996 (17% of total freshwater resources), 28 billion
m 3 of which was supplied from surface waters and the remainder from groundwater.
Seventy-six percent of that volume was used for irrigation, followed by drinking water (14%)
and industrial uses (10%). This corresponds to an annual consumption of drinking water of
about 74 m 3 per capita, compared to about 100 m 3 in Europe The overall status of water
supply in Turkey is good. However, access to piped water can be a problem for a particular
segment of the population [171]. Nearly 100% of urban dwellers but only 85% of rural
residents have access to safe drinking water. Moreover, water supply is also a problem for
new residents in peripheral and/or illegally settled areas of Turkey‟s cities [105].
Water demand is expected to increase due to agricultural uses. The DSI estimates that the
amount of water needed in 2010 will be 55 billion m 3 , of which 78% will be for irrigation, 13%
for urban and 9% for industry [171]. For example, 4.5 million ha of agricultural land are
currently irrigated, which is 16% of all agricultural land and 17% of all potentially irrigable
land. It is possible to irrigate about 26 million ha of agricultural land although only 8.5 million
ha of which will be economically viable. Since new investments are being made for irrigation,
drinking water, industry and energy, incentives should be adopted to discourage irrigation in
non-economical land [56].
Table 48 Industrial waste water pollution load in Turkey (1997) [57]
Only 6% of the population is served by sewage treatment compared to an OECD average of
63%. In 1992, industry and manufacturing discharged 843,334,071 m 3 of waste water and
70,350,019 m 3 of sewage. 69% of the waste water was not treated, 18% received some
treatment and 13% received some pre-treatment. With regard to sewage, 58% was
discharged with no treatment. Table 48 [57] gives the pollution load for selected wastes
(biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), heavy metals) for all
public and private enterprises that did not have treatment facilities. Public enterprises
produced a sizable amount of the waste water pollution load: parastatals generated 57% of
the BOD, 51% of the COD and 42% of heavy metal pollution. Seventy-four percent of
industrial waste water from state enterprises was discharged without any treatment. Another
problem is that waste water treatment facilities are inefficiently managed [171].
Contaminants such as heavy metals have a tendency to accumulate in biota by adsorption or
absorption. In general, heavy metals, such as Fe, Cu, Zn, Co, Mn, Cr, Mo, V, Se and Sn, are
known to be essential for living organisms, but, although suitable concentrations may be
prerequisites for survival, they also form as inhibitors of enzymatic functions when natural
levels are exceeded. Other metals, such as Ag, Hg, Cd and Pb, are toxic and inhibit
enzymatic systems [171]. Heavy metal levels in marine organisms are also a potential
hazard for humans through sea food consumption. On the other hand, heavy metals are
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