WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT IN TURKEY

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1 WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT IN TURKEY Prof. Dr. Veysel EROĞLU Director General General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works ABSTRACT There are several public institutions and organizations in Turkey working on the development of land and water resources of 26 river basins. Although the duties and working areas of each of these institutions were determined by laws, very often more than one institution working on each individual project related to the development of water and land resources sometimes causes duplications or partial overlaps and difficulties in implementation of works. The most efficient solution for overcoming these problems in order to allow natual occurrence of water cycle, well-designed Basin Management Plan should be implemented. Within the framework of this management model, activities of the institutions which are responsible for the development of water and land resources should be reviewed, and in addition to harmonization of their activities, all the water and land resources in the basin, their utilization and pollution states must be reviewed taking into consideration the borders of the basin, problems and long-term demands should be determined in priority. In this paper, the present status of water resources management in Turkey and to the current institutional and legal framework is given.

2 322 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT INTRODUCTION Being one of the most important key element influencing social health, wellbeing, the preservation of ecosystem, and the economic development of a country, water is a natural, yet limited resource. Due to Global warming effects and its adverse impact on climate many countries of the world will be facing serious shortages on this limited resource. Thus, planning, management and preservation of water on a basinwide scale is essential. Engineering and supporting interdisciplinary studies and activities performed for the purpose of utilizing and controlling water for preservarion and for the benefit of the society is commonly referred to as water resources planning and management. Fundamental to water resources planning and management is an understanding of the availability of water and a notion of how much of it will be needed, in what quantity, for how long, and for what purposes. This requires an evaluation of the regionla resources data coupled with projections of population change, agricultural and industrial activity, economic growth or decline, and so on. Furthermore, an understanding of influencing customs, laws, organizations, and regulations must be acquired. For the efforts made in this respect to be successful, what is required to be known is not only the quantity and quality of water, but also, among others, the temporal and spatial distribution of it. Although this information could be made available through observations at various locations and times, what we would end up with in this case would only consist of historical information. Since all water resources projects are planned and designed for meeting the needs of future generations, historical information alone would obviously not suffice; however, it could well serve as a basis for the prediction of future distributions both in time and space of quality and quantity of water. There is a growing awareness that water resources development as well as all other types of development efforts must be sustainable. Sustainability in terms of water suggests that water resources must be managed and preserved in such a way as to meet the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations. Sustainable development and management of water resources cannot be accomplished without a sound assessment of water resources that can be described as the determination, the extent, the dependability, and quality of water resources, which is based on the evaluation of the possibilities for their utilization and control. Water resources assessment (WRA) is of critical importance for sustainability because of the predictable impacts of expanding population, increasing pollution and the heightened severity of extreme water-related events such as droughts and floods which is severly pronounced nowadays due to Global warming of adverse impacts on climate change. It would not be an exaggeration to state that WRA is a prerequisite for all aspects of water resources development and management.

3 BASIN WATER MANAGEMENT 323 Though it is highly desirable to accurately assess the water resources locally, regionally and globally, a variety of challenges are faced by those agencies responsible for carrying out the related studies. These challenges consist of, but not limited to, increasing need for integration and coordination between institutions, heightened stress on water and the need for more precise information, the effects of human activity and climate change, transboundary aspects of water resources, unavailability of sufficient number of competent personnel, and obviously, restraining financial resources. GENERAL DEFINITION AND IMPORTANCE OF WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT Water Resources Management (WRM) is the wholeness that collects all the conditions and methods related to the determination and planning of need concerned with water resources, rational water use, detailed observation, efficient protection under its framework. In order to guaranty the supply of water in required place and at required time with sufficient amount and quality, and to protect people and their activities from damaging effects of water resources, it is required to develop water resources development projects of different content and scope. A water resources project or system represent the group of measurements and activities that turn towards the aim of development or rehabilitation of water resources for serving into use of human beings and that contains structural or non-structual factors. Major targets of WRM of which the water resource is the basic elements can be listed as below: Determination of existing and future qualitative and quantitative characteristics of surface and groundwater resources, evaluation of supply possibilities, Determination, planning and arrangement of community water demands, Formation of water balances, collection of factors that will provide continuity of these balances, and development of a long term strategy for rational use of water resources, Monitoring of water resources in order to protect them from pollution and exhaustion, Planning water resources systems, Modeling of management, Designation of processes in water systems and operational conditions, Increase of assurance of water from quality and quantity point of views,

4 324 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT Make it possible the multipurpose utilization of water resources, determination of priorities of these purposes and reevaluation of allocations, Improvement of rational water use, Provide sustainability of natural potential of water resources and protect them, Provide effective utilization of technical elements (e.g. reservoirs, treatment plants etc.) in order to protect communities from adverse effect of water resources, Benefit from managerial elements, economic instruments (e.g. pricing, penalties etc.), laws and regulations. INSTITUTIONS RELATED TO WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT IN TURKEY A number of governmental and non-governmental organizations have direct and indirect interest in the development and conservation of water resources in Turkey. Institutional structure consists of three levels; namely, decision making, executive and users level. In decision making level, Prime Ministry, State Planning Organization and various ministries take place. Governmental organizations under the ministries are at the executive level. There are both governmental and nongovernmental organizations at the water users level for the operation and maintenance of the projects (municipalities, utility agencies, irrigation cooperatives etc.). Main executive-level organizations responsible for development of water resources are General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works (DSI), General Directorate of Rural Services (GDRS), General Directorate of Bank of Provinces (Iller Bank), General Directorate of Electric Power Resources Survey and Development Administration (EIE), and Urban water and sewage administrations. DSI, placed under the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, is the major organization responsible for the development and management and preservation of water resources in Turkey. Development, management and conservation of groundwater resources are also exclusively under the responsibility of DSI. GDRS which is abolished in 2005, was administered under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and responsible for the construction of rural roads, communal buildings, small reservoirs and small-scale irrigation schemes and for supplying drinking water to rural communities. Iller Bank s responsibilities include developing urban plans, supplying municipal water, constructing sewerage systems and treatment plants, and providing loans to municipalities for the financing of such projects.

5 BASIN WATER MANAGEMENT 325 EIE is responsible for surveys on electric power and for rational use and conservation of it. EIE works in close coordination with DSI in collecting hydrometric data and development of hydropower. Urban water and sewage administrations in metropolitan municipalities are in charge of such works as constructing, operating, and maintaining water supply and treatment facilities, and are responsible for networks of industrial establishments within the boundaries of metropolitan municipalities. There are a number of monitoring-supervising organizations performing under various legislative arrangements. Among them, the most important ones include The Ministry of Environment and Forestry, The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and The Ministry of Health. The Ministry of Environment and Forestry is responsible, among other things, for setting policies, principles and rules, inspecting activities, coordinating studies, and enhancing public awareness on environmental aspects of water resources. The fact that there are many institutions working on water resources development, and the existence of contradictory legislation on water resources development in addition to water pollution control and environmental impact assessment regulations leads to duplications or partial coincidences and difficulties in applications. Since many of the issues that are indispensable for WRM are directly related to the activities of DSI, integration function is fulfilled spontaneously within the structure of this institution. However, it can be expressed that need to define elements of integration that are important for Turkey became evident in order to achieve sustainable development. For this reason, it is beneficial to start the process of integration within and between institutions that take part in the institutional framework of WRM. NATIONAL SETTING AND QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF WATER RESOURCES Turkey is located on the crossroads of Europe and Asia, and extends over Dardanelles and Bosphorus straits allowing a natural connection between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. The country has a total surface area of km 2, of which km 2 is land and the remaining km 2 is water surface. The total length of the coastline along the surrounding seas is km, whereas the length of political boundaries with eight neighboring countries is approximately km. 59 percent of the total population of Turkey, which is currently around 74 million, is presently dwelling in urban centers whereas the remaining 41 percent is living in rural areas.

6 326 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT The climate of Turkey is semi-arid with extremities in temperature. Climate and precipitation figures exhibit great variance throughout the country: in the higher interior Anatolian Plateau, winters are cold with late springs, while the surrounding coastal fringes enjoy the very mild-featured Mediterranean climate. Average annual precipitation is 643 mm, ranging from 250 mm in the southeastern part of the country, to over mm in the northeastern Black Sea coastal area. This average annual precipitation figure for Turkey corresponds to an average of 501 billion m 3 of water per year. Approximately 70% of total precipitation falls from October to March, and there is little effective rainfall during summer months. At elevations above m, a considerable part of the precipitation is in the form of snow. Along the Black Sea Coastal region, total annual rainfall is as much as mm and distributed evenly. In other coastal areas, however, including the Mediterranean, distribution of precipitation is quite variable. Exceptions to these general climatic features are found in some localities experiencing specific ʺmicro climatesʺ. Annual precipitation of Turkey is 501 billion m 3 and 274 billion m 3 is assumed to evaporate from surface and transpire through plants. Water potential of Turkey is slightly augmented by inflow from adjacent countries, which contributes to the water potential of Turkey as much as 7 billion m 3 a year. 69 billion m 3 of precipitation directly recharges the aquifers, whereas 158 billion m 3 forms the precipitation runoff. There is a continuous interaction between surface runoff and groundwater, but it is estimated that a net 28 billion m 3 of groundwater feeds the rivers. With the surface runoff of 7 billion m 3 coming from neighboring countries, total surface runoff within the country reaches 193 billion m 3. However, not all of the renewable water resources can be utilized because of economic and technical reasons. Exploitable portions of surface runoff, inflow from bordering countries, and groundwater are 95, 3, and 14 billion m 3, respectively. Thus, the total of exploitable water resources amounts to 112 billion m billion m 3 of groundwater and 64 billion m 3 of surface runoff flow into neighboring countries. 8 billion m 3 of surface water is drained in closed basins and evaporates from there. Infiltration to groundwater from closed basins is neglected. The rest of these resources, which amounts to 151 billion m billion m 3 from surface water and 30 billion m 3 from groundwater discharges to the various seas surrounding Turkey. Gross water potential of Turkey totals 234 billion m 3 ( ). According to gross potential, water available per capita per year in Turkey as of 2007 is about m 3. Nevertheless, as a consequence of population increase, it is expected to be m 3 /cap/a by the year 2010, whereas the figure on the basis of exploitable annual average would be around m 3 /cap/a. Thus, it is anticipated that in certain re-

7 BASIN WATER MANAGEMENT 327 gions of the country there will be major water deficit problems during drought years in the future. As compared to studies carried out for the assessment of the quantity of water resources, qualitative assessment of water resources in Turkey is relatively new. The first prominent governmental action related to the qualitative assessment of water resources is the enactment of Environmental Law in The basic theme of this law is the introduction of the polluter pays principle. Thus, the law faces the problems of the environment in their largest dimension. The first article of the law specifies its purpose as being not only the prevention and elimination of pollution but also the preservation and utilization of natural resources in the most appropriate manner. In accordance with the targets defined in the Environmental Law, the Water Pollution Control Regulation was prepared and became effective in In this regulation, two basic approaches to water resources have been adopted. First one of these approaches is the acceptance and treatment of water resources within the framework of an ecosystem and conservation of them in their existing conditions; the second one being the protection and improvement of water quality in accordance with the requirements of the country. Protection of drinking water supply reservoirs through buffer zones and land use restrictions, and control on waste-water discharge practices are two critical aspects of the regulation. The concept of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for proposed projects was introduced in the Environmental Law; and accordingly, EIA Regulation was issued in Within the framework of this regulation, dams and groundwater utilization providing a withdrawal of more than 10 million m 3 /year have been subject to EIA studies. Since 1993, DSI has been carrying out EIA studies for those projects that fall into this category. HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATION SYSTEM Optimal planning and rational management of water resources requires for adequate and reliable data including quantity and quality of water depending on time and space as well as other meteorological variables that are of significant impact on both water supply and demand. In parallel with the effectual and practical procedures of water resource development projects and operation of facilities built in this respect, DSI carries out, and responsible for, the tasks associated with the observation and measurement of wide range of meteorological and hydrological variables. Those data observed, measured and processed by DSI include, primarily, water levels of lakes and groundwater, stream flow rates, sediment loads and water quality in rivers as well as such meteorological variables as precipitation, temperature, evaporation and humidity.

8 328 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT DSI has contributed considerably to the establishment, operation and expansion of Hydrometric Observation Network of Turkey, and is currently operating 1113 stream flow, 126 lake level, 150 snow gauging, and 392 meteorological stations located throughout Turkey. DSI works heavily to cope with the vast amount of data required to implement the ever-increasing number of water resources development projects in accordance with the rapid economic development of Turkey. Duties and responsibilities of DSI associated with the hydrometeorological studies can be summarized as follows: to install gauging stations for data collection; to measure and monitor hydrometeorological data; to collect data related to sediment, snow, and water quality parameters; to evaluate, process, compile and publish the data; to conduct hydrometeorological survey in flood plains; to make coordination between the related agencies associated with all of the above activities. BACKGROUND AND FUTURE OF DEVELOPMENT Because of climatic condition in Turkey, the precipitation-flow relationships which change seasonally also show considerable differences from year to year and natural water supply falls to minimum levels in summer time when the demands are maximum. Country s water resources are very sensitive to drought conditions and drought is seen every fifteen year period in which mean annual water yield decreases to one third of annual average value of long period. Beside irregular regime character, flood events, which are threatening natural life and other activities are creating great hazards. Therefore, the periodic droughts necessitates the construction of dams to regulate water in one year or longer. In Turkey, parallel to dams construction either for prevention of these floods or for meeting demands, basin water management systems comprising other activities are being developed for providing the balance between resource and demand. As in other countries in the world, irrigation has a great share in water consumption. To minimize water loss trough distribution networks, to use water more conservatively during the operation and to increase irrigation efficiency, modern irrigation methods such as, sprinkler or drip irrigation are mostly preferred in irrigation projects. For the purpose of water resources development having importance for countryʹs progress, various projects have been developed in agriculture, energy, environ-

9 BASIN WATER MANAGEMENT 329 ment and the other sectors in Turkey so far. Beside domestic and industrial water supply, the projects developed in services sector comprise meeting of the tourism water requirements which plays an important role in development of the country. With the projects developed primarily by DSI and other institutions engaged in development of water resources, actual water consumption in Turkey as of 2005 reached 40.1 billion m 3, which corresponds to only 17% (40.1/234) of the gross water potential of Turkey. If evaluated in terms of technically and economically exploitable water resources, this percentage goes up to 35.8% (40.1/112). Actual and projected water consumption figures in Turkey between 1990 and 2030 are given in Table 1. As seen in the table, most of the water is consumed through irrigation, which is not only the largest component of water consumption in Turkey but also the greatest consumer of funds allocated for water resources projects. Table1. Development of water consumption in Turkey. (*) of 112 billion m 3 TOTAL WATER WITHDRAWAL SECTORS YEAR Irrigation Domestic Industrial Million m 3 %(*) % % % Almost one third of the total area of the country is classified as agricultural land which is about 28,05 million ha. One third of 28,05 million ha agricultural land can be classified as irrigable land. According to the available coprehensive studies an estimated 8,5 million ha (7,9 million ha with surface water and 0,6 million ha with groundwater resources) is economically irrigable under available technology. In other words, the agricultural area is 36 % of total land and 30 % of the agricultural area can be irrigated by technically and economically. Presently 4.97 million ha land is being irrigated and out of this figure 2.85 million ha land is irrigated by the realization of the projects developed by DSI. DSI General Directorate is responsible for domestic and industrial water supply to big cities with a population of more than 100,000. Therefore. DSİ has been authorized by the Council of Ministers to supply water to 48 cities. 2.6 billion m 3 of domestic water has been supplied to 20 cities out of 48. Water supply studies for other cities and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) are also in progress at present. Although Turkey is not affluent in terms of hydroelectric potential, it is ranked in the first quartile within the European countries. In terms of developing water resources in Turkey, hydraulic energy generation takes an considerable portion. So far in Turkey, for the purpose of hydro-electric energy generation, 716 HPPʹs (Hydro-

10 330 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT Electric Power Plants) have been developed at the various levels. By the end of 2006, 137 HPPʹs have been put into the operation, 38 HPPʹs are under construction, and the other 540 HPPʹs are considered at the various project stages. According to studies made, exploitable hydroelectric energy of Turkey has been found to be 130 Billion kwh/year. As of 2006 hydroelectric energy generation is GWh/year. This figure indicates that so far only 34% of the exploitable hydroelectric energy has been developed. Trends in demand for electric power suggests that an energy shortage is imminent. Therefore, it is considered that hydroelectric energy should be given priority due to the fact that it poses much less of a threat for the environment compared to other types of energy sources. Studies for the development of water resources in Turkey began in 1930s. Initiated especially for the development of small-scale irrigation projects, the size and scope of these studies expanded in a relatively short period of time. But, it was not until late 1940s that basin-wide hydrologic assessment and master plan studies were started. Activities in this respect gained a momentum and accelerated with the establishment of the aforementioned institutions. These studies served as a blueprint and constituted a solid foundation at each stage of the basin-wide development efforts throughout Turkey. Even though the number of projects completed to date is by no means regarded negligible, Turkey has not even been half way through with developing its water resources potential. BASIN MANAGEMENT MODEL The best solution to overcome the problems in water resources management faced with during implementation and to provide integrated between above mentioned subjects of WRM is the implementation of a well-designed ʺbasin management modelʺ. Within the framework of this model, taking into consideration the boundaries of river basins, the following issues must be determined and arranged according to the degree of their priority: 1. Necessary procedure for harmonization of the activities of institutions responsible for management of water and land resources, 2. Designation of coordinatory body at the most important point of the basin (starting from the upstream) 3. Upper basin problems (flood, erosion, etc.) 4. Current and future utilization of water for domestic, industrial, agricultural and energy production purposes in the basin,

11 BASIN WATER MANAGEMENT Residential, industrial, mining, cultural site and specially protected areas, wetlands, national parks etc. and their water requirements, 6. Pollution states of the resources and reasons of pollution (domestic, industrial and agricultural) 7. Existing surface and groundwater resources potential, 8. Existing forestry classification, 9. Lands that require irrigation and also that are economically irrigable, 10. Hydroelectricity potential on basin basis, 11. Existing flood problems, 12. Areas that have potential from environmental and tourism point of view. As understood from the above mentioned elements of the management model that many institutions have the responsibility in this frame. However, the main responsibility belongs to DSI because with the Establishment Law, Groundwater Law and Law on Supply of Drinking Water to Ankara, Istanbul and those cities with population higher than 100,000, DSI became the responsible authority for water and land resources management. Additionally, DSI is also responsible for preparing ʺBasin Management Plansʺ as defined in Establishment Law and in Water Pollution Control regulation. In this context, in order to level the unbalances in resource usage in different sectors, to revise WRM in which the priority is given to answer the current demands and to take necessary precautions to prevent pollution of water resources, studies on preparation of ʺbasin management plansʺ were started by DSI. CONCLUSION Sustainable use of water resources requires maintaining the integrity of the hydrologic whole. It is thus evident that isolated treatment of any component of the water resource system results in suboptimal, if not unsatisfactory, solutions. For this reason, an integrated approach is inevitable for the rational management of water resources. In Turkey, there is a great deal of effort in adopting and exercising an integrated approach to water resources management. However, individual elements of the water resources system could not yet be defined explicitly. To better assess and develop the water resources of the country, integrated water resources management should be adopted. Here, natural water resource system consists of the hydrologic cycle with its components. Human activity system is comprised of many activities of people that affect or affected by the natural water resource system. Finally, water resource management system is composed of the activities and relationships in the public and

12 332 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT private sectors concerned with harmonizing the supply and demand sides so as to achieve the objectives of the society. Recognition of each of these components and detail analysis of the interaction between them would undoubtedly yield better results in the management of water resources. DSI unequivocally recognizes the value of water resources information as a foundation for integrated management of resources. In this respect, DSI have lately had some initiatives and will hopefully achieve fruitful results in setting out to: implement better instrumentation for data collection; employ modern technology for data transmission, processing and archiving; implement national water information system; take advantage of satellites and remote sensing applications for data transmission; analyze and present data using advanced computer models and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).