Istanbul feels pressure of drought as water supply cut off in European side districts

Water supply was cut off on Saturday evening in several districts of Istanbul, according to a report by Duvar who cited automated voice messages of the city's water administration.

People who called a hotline of Istanbul Water and Sewerage Administration (ISKI) upon an unanticipated water outage yesterday were responded by a voice message that said water supply would be cut off till midnight in the districts of Gaziosmanpasa, Eyup, Sisli, Besiktaş, Esenler, Kagithane, Sultangazi, Bayrampasa, Beyoglu, Bagcilar, Esenler and Arnavutkoy, all located on the European side of the city.

ISKI later released an announcement saying "disruptions in water flow" were due to "energy outages" by Turkish Electricity Transmission Corporation (TEIAS), and it happened "outside their control."

Although both ISKI and TEIAS are public entities, the former is under the control of opposition-held Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and the latter is government-owned.

It is not hard for people to guess, however, that the recent water outages are most likely related to the severe drought that has hit Istanbul, a city with a population of 16 million.

The average water occupancy in the reservoirs supplying water to Istanbul was measured at 25.5% yesterday, the lowest in the past nine years.

The occupancy in Terkos, one of the major reservoirs on the European side, was measured at 12.8%, and 17.4% in Alibeykoy.

Water in Buyukcekmece reservoir, measured at 5.2%, has almost completely dried off.