ANKARA'S WATER SUPPLY: SUPPLY UP QUALITY DOWN FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 000184

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
ANKARA PASS TO ADANA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/30/2018
TAGS: ABLD SENV TU
SUBJECT: ANKARA'S WATER SUPPLY: SUPPLY UP QUALITY DOWN FOR
SUMMER 2008

REF: ANKARA 03046

Classified By: DALE EPPLER Per E.O. 12958 for reasons 1.4(d)


1. (SBU) Summary: Water levels in Ankara,s reservoirs have
risen from an approximate 15 day supply in December 2007 to
an approximate 100 day supply in late January 2008. The
usable water supply is still only 60% of the January 2007
level. To avoid another water shortage in summer 2008, the
city of Ankara plans to draw water from the Kizilirmak river,
which has higher than normal levels of chlorine, sodium and
sulfates from agricultural runoff, and mix it directly with
city water to reduce the contamination levels. Ankara has no
water treatment facilities to remove chemical contaminants.
The best case scenario remains that Ankara will have a
sufficient supply, but of contaminated water in summer 2008.


2. (SBU) On January 29th, 2008, we visited Murat Dogru,
the head of Ankara's Infrastructure Department and Chief
Advisor to the Mayor of Ankara, in his office to talk about
the water situation and Ankara,s expectations for Summer

2008. Dogru gave us some background and capacities for the
water supply and storage system for the city, similar to the
information reported reftel from the State Hydrology agency.
As of late January, Ankara had approximately 84 million cubic
meters of water in its reservoirs, up from only approximately
10 million cubic meters in mid-December 2007. While this is
a positive development, it is still just 60% of the 137
million cubic meters that Ankara had at the end of January

2007. To prevent another water crisis in summer 2008, Ankara
is building a system to pipe water from the Kizilirmak River
125km to Ankara. The project, which would supply water to
Ankara for the next 50 years, is projected to be finished and
on-line by June 2008. While this project, if completed on
time, would provide enough water to meet the city's needs,
the water contains high levels of chemicals from agricultural
runoff and industry.


3. (SBU) When asked about the contamination, Dogru showed
us the webpage of the Ankara water and sewage department
(ASKI) website at www.aski.gov.tr . In order to allay public
fears, the city published four studies of the river water.
The test results differed, but all four studies concluded
that the river had high concentrations of sulfates (357
mg/l),chlorine (260 mg/l),and Sodium (213 mg/l) (all
results taken from Middle Eastern Technical University
study). Additionally, one of the samples in the city's study
showed a high concentration of nitrates (11.2 mg/l) and the
University's study, which was the only study that tested for
it, showed the presence of lead (listed at