Drought depletes Turkey’s Tekirdag reservoirs, forcing emergency water curbs
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Plastic bottles lie on the parched, cracked earth, in the dried basin of Turkmenli Dam, where water once submerged the landscape, on Aug 11, 2025.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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TEKIRDAG, Turkey - A drought in Turkey’s north-western province of Tekirdag has left the area’s main dams without potable water, straining infrastructure and leaving some homes without water for weeks, due to a sharp drop in precipitation in the country in 2025.
The authorities say drought is a critical issue, with several provinces warning of limited fresh water supply this summer.
Various areas in Izmir, Turkey’s third-most populous province, have experienced frequent water cuts in August, while the municipality in the western province of Usak was told at the weekend that it would have access to water just six hours a day, with the main water reservoir depleted.
Rainfall slumped 71 per cent in July across the country from a year ago, according to Turkey’s Meteorological Service. In the Marmara region, which includes Tekirdag and Istanbul, it shrank 95 per cent below the monthly norm in July.
In the 10 months to August, precipitation sank 32 per cent in Marmara compared with the norm, while it fell 26 per cent across Turkey to the lowest level in 52 years.
The water level in Tekirdag’s Naip Dam, which has not seen any rainfall in June and July, fell to zero per cent in August.
That has forced the authorities to find alternatives such as delivering irrigation water for domestic use and building a pump system for delivery into urban areas.
The dam’s water level was 21 per cent this time in 2024, according to the State Hydraulic Works.
Mr Mehmet Ali Sismanlar, head of Tekirdag’s Water and Sewerage Administration, said rainfall in Tekirdag has reduced dramatically over the past decade, and severe drought over the last two years has spurred frequent water cuts in some areas this summer.
“We are the area and the province that has been affected the most by the drought in Turkey,” he said, attributing it to climate change.
The water in Turkmenli dam, usually used for irrigation, was used to supply water to Tekirdag’s Marmaraereglisi district, where some neighbourhoods faced water cuts.
A drone view of the receding waterline and exposed lakebed in the dried basin of Turkmenli Dam, as drought conditions continued to affect water levels.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Teski was working to open new wells to use groundwater, not usually a preferred measure, Mr Sismanlar said. He said groundwater had sunk to twice its original depth over the years.
Mr Mehmet, 70, a resident who lives in the Dereagzi neighbourhood with his family, said their home has had no water for two months, leaving them unable to shower or perform chores, and that they were fetching water from nearby areas in large bottles.
Mr Mehmet and his wife Fatma in their kitchen surrounded by large plastic water bottles, as a drought left some homes without running water for weeks.
PHOTO: REUTERS
“I have been living in filth for the past two months,” he said, standing among dirty piles of dishes in the kitchen, and adding that he last showered when he went to Istanbul, around 130km away.
His wife Fatma, 65, said the family stayed up at night to fill up bottles.
Mr Remzi Karabas, 71, said he takes his laundry to Istanbul to be washed, but was done with living in Tekirdag.
“We’ll leave some day soon. What can we do here? Water does not flow at all.” REUTERS
