Ömerli Dam

The water level in Istanbul's dams has fallen to 29.92 percent, the lowest in a year, after months of insufficient rainfall.

This marks a sharp decline from April's average of 82.62 percent, with three dams — Alibeyköy, Kazandere and Pabuçdere — now below 10 percent of their full capacity. Elmalı Dam is the only one above 50 percent, at 51.61 percent."

Water levels in the dams of Istanbul, Türkiye's largest city, have dropped critically, according to recent data released by the city's water and sewerage body İSKİ.

The data indicated that the overall storage rate of Istanbul's dams stood at a mere 20.36 percent, the lowest value recorded in the last 10 years.

With Türkiye facing blazing temperatures fueled by El Nino, an expert has expressed concerns over the amount of water lost by evaporation from Istanbul dams, as the Ömerli Dam is losing alarming 17,000 tons of water with each passing hour.

As the color of the Riva Stream in Istanbul has turned black again and the pungent odor rising following the formation of an oil slick over its surface, the Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Ministry has started an investigation by taking samples from the water.

Istanbul's long-term water supply is guaranteed according to Fatih Y?ld?z, the head of the Istanbul Waterworks Authority's (?SK?) Water Purification Directorate, who said Feb. 4 that the reservoir behind the city's largest dam, Ömerli, was nearly full and the city could expect to enter the summer at full capacity.