Days after water supply restrictions began to be applied in the district of Çeşme, a popular tourist destination on the Aegean coast, water cuts have now spread to the entire province, affecting the capital (Izmir) itself, where emergency measures decreed from 6 August will mean that citizens will be without running water between 11pm and 5am in Turkey’s third most populous city.
The decision, as reported by the Turkish news agency Anatolia, has been taken after an emergency meeting of the İZSU – the body in charge of water management in Izmir – which noted that the city, with more than 3 million inhabitants, consumes about 700,000 cubic metres of water a day, while the situation of the main reservoirs that supply water to the city is critical.
In the case of the Tahtalı Dam – one of Izmir’s main drinking water reserves – it is at only 8.1% of its capacity, when at this time a year ago it was at almost 23%, while the Gördes reservoir has dried up completely. According to İZSU’s own data published by Anatolia, 4 of the 6 main dams supplying water to the city are at around 10% or less of their capacity – with two of them dry or almost dry – and in the rest the situation is not much better, with reserves at best around 50% and down 20% compared to 2024, which was already a particularly hot year.
For now the water cuts will begin to be implemented from today during the night hours, but if the situation persists and the lack of water in the region worsens, it is not ruled out to extend the cuts to daylight hours. Çeşme, a peninsula and district on the coast of Izmir, already started implementing water cuts on 25 July due to the drought, which has left its main reserves below 5%; the cuts, initially of 7 hours (between 23:00 and 6:00) have been extended since 31 July to 10 hours a day due to the worsening situation.
“Izmir’s surface water sources are almost depleted“
“Due to the global climate crisis and insufficient rainfall, Izmir’s water reserves have been reduced to critical levels. Reserves in the dams, which represent our surface water sources, have been almost completely depleted, while falling groundwater levels in underground water sources (deep wells) have reduced their efficiency and capacity,” İZSU reported in a statement.
“From August 6, 2025, planned and rotating water cuts will start to be implemented throughout Izmir during the night. The water cuts could affect only certain neighbourhoods, depending on the technical requirements of the water distribution network,” the statement added.
The water cut programme to be implemented in a total of 11 districts of Izmir to cope with the drought, which in an initial phase will last between August 6 and 21, is as follows:
Region 1 – Districts: Bayraklı, Konak, Gaziemir
Days and times of water cuts: Wednesday 6 August, 23:00 – Thursday 7 August; 05:00, Monday 11 August, 23:00 – Tuesday 12 August, 05:00; Saturday 16 August, 23:00 – Sunday 17 August, 05:00.
Region 2 – Districts: Karşıyaka, Çiğli
Days and times of water cuts: Thursday 7 August, 23:00 – Friday 8 August, 05:00; Tuesday 12 August, 23:00 – Wednesday 13 August, 05:00; Sunday 17 August, 23:00 – Monday 18 August, 05:00.
Region 3 – Districts: Buca, Karabağlar, Bornova, Karşıyaka
Days and times of water cuts: Friday, 8 August, 23:00 – Saturday, 9 August, 05:00; Wednesday, 13 August, 23:00 – Thursday, 14 August, 05:00; Monday, 18 August, 23:00 – Tuesday, 19 August, 05:00.
Region 4 – Districts: Bornova, Bayraklı
Days and times of water cuts: Saturday, 9 August, 23:00 – Sunday, 10 August, 05:00; Thursday, 14 August, 23:00 – Friday, 15 August, 05:00; Tuesday, 19 August, 23:00 – Wednesday, 20 August, 05:00.
Region 5 – Districts: Balçova, Narlıdere, Güzelbahçe, Konak, Karabağlar
Days and times of water cuts: Sunday, 10 August, 23:00 – Monday, 11 August, 05:00; Friday, 15 August, 23:00 – Saturday, 16 August, 05:00; Wednesday, 20 August, 23:00 – Thursday, 21 August, 05:00.
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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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