Local authorities in the province of Izmir, located on Turkey’s west coast and the third most populous in the country, have in recent days implemented scheduled water cuts for 7 hours a day in the tourist municipality of Çeşme due to the critical shortage caused by the drought, which is leaving high temperatures and has reduced to dramatic levels the main reserves that supply drinking water to the district.
As reported by the Anatolia news agency, the mandatory water cuts began on 25 July, starting at 11 p.m. and ending at 6 a.m., and for now there is no date set on how long will last the measure, which threatens one of the most popular tourist destinations on Turkey’s Aegean coast and has had to be implemented after experts warned last week that Çeşme had water reserves for only 10 days: a critical situation that has sparked alarm and outrage in equal measure among many businessmen and residents.
Osman Rakip Köfüncü, president of Çeşme’s cooperative of craftsmen and traders, told the agency that the district has been suffering from drought problems for five years without the necessary measures being taken: “Interconnections between dams could have been made during the winter. In our opinion, this whole problem should have been addressed a long time ago. We are overpopulated, our population during the winter is not the same as it is now (in summer),” he said.
Nuri Ertan, former mayor of Çeşme, is another who thinks this is a desperate measure due to a lack of prevention: “The water from our dam is mostly spent on washing cars with water and watering gardens. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of swimming pools. The municipality should intervene, but these are not things that can be done now. You have to put these initiatives in place at least 6 or 7 months in advance. I think it is very inappropriate to implement this decision now,” said the former mayor.
Water reserves at critical levels
The main reservoir supplying water to Çeşme is the Kutlu Aktaş Dam, which according to the latest measurements is at only 12% of its capacity, leaving the district with only about 10 days of drinking water remaining.
With the drought and high summer temperatures, and water consumption soaring due to the massive arrival of tourists and seasonal residents to Çeşme, the situation is critical and many fear that the water cuts will be extended: in fact, the authorities themselves have already warned that the 7-hour water cut is only an initial phase, but that if the measure proves to be insufficient, further restrictions – including water cuts during the day – will have to be faced.
But the problem of water shortages due to the persistent drought in Turkey is not only limited to the Çeşme district. Izmir province is facing one of the hottest and driest summers since climate records have been kept, and water reserves supplying the provincial capital are at critical levels.
According to data provided by İZSU – the body in charge of water management in Izmir – the actual amount of water available in the 6 main dams supplying this city of more than 3 million inhabitants has been reduced by more than 50% compared to 2024, which was already a particularly hot year: in the case of the Gördes Dam, it has completely dried up, and the Tahtalı Dam – one of the most important for covering Izmir’s drinking water needs – is below 10% of its total capacity. Experts warn: if Tahtalı dries up, water cuts will be inevitable in Izmir city itself.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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