Poor irrigation main cause of water loss, data shows

With Turkey battling drought stemming from climate change, official data reveals that about three-quarters of the total water consumed in the country is used for irrigation and that there is a water loss of 35-60 percent due to the surface irrigation method.

Officials in Turkey have raised concerns due to the lack of rainfall since the last summer, which has led to low water levels in dams, saying that there could be a scarcity of drinking water, and agriculture practices could get affected.

According to the data obtained from the Environment and Urbanization Ministry, nearly 74 percent of the total water consumed in the country is used for irrigation and some 35-60 percent water loss occurs in surface irrigation method.

In order to prevent wastage of water, it is recommended to switch to sprinkler or drip irrigation method, which reduces water loss up to 5 percent.

While parks and gardens stand out among the places where water should be saved and used judiciously, experts suggest that for irrigation practices, the morning or afternoon hours should be preferred as the rate of evaporation is low.

According to the Ministry's data, watering plants in the morning or evening saves up to 112 liters of water each time while cleaning a parking lot with a broom alone instead of using water saves up to 675 liters of water.

Watering a lawn one or two times a week saves 3,780 liters of water, and the sprinkler leakage checks save 2,250 liters of water per month.

Turkish media has reported that farmers had been impacted by the drought with a dramatic reduction in the grain harvest, namely in the central province of Konya, the northwestern province of Edirne and Izmir.

Konya has a vast expanse of farmlands, at around 2.2...