Speaking to the Anatolia news agency, Hasan Kucukaydin, deputy manager of the provincial department of environment and forestry, said that the Konya wastewater treatment plant constructed by the Konya Municipal Waterworks Authority (KOSKI) was equipped with the latest technology.
“Polluted water has been flowing into the lake through drainage channels due to insufficient rainfall over the last 15 years, particularly in winter. This threatens the environment for water birds such as flamingos and harms the lake’s natural balance. Lake Tuz meets 64 percent of Turkey’s salt needs, and the polluted water leads to the pollution of the salt we use in our homes. And this dirty water was being used for irrigation by neighborhood villages. We hope these environmental problems that threaten human life will disappear,” remarked Kucukaydin.
Kucukaydin said that the principal factor leading to pollution in Lake Tuz will be eliminated with the development of more wastewater treatment plants in the region. The plant is currently working at 50% capacity during its testing phase and will begin operating at full capacity shortly.
Industrial wastewater to be treated
The treatment plants working at present only clean domestic wastewater, but Kucukaydin said that the studies were under way by the Konya Organized Industrial Zone’s administration to construct a plant to treat industrial waste.
The plant will start functioning in September 2009 and, along with the Konya sugar refinery that has been running for two years and the KOSKI plant, they will contribute largely to the elimination of pollution in the lake.
New treatment plant will save water
The Konya sewage treatment plant, which is proposed to be operational by September 2009, will save 50 million cubic meters of water annually to be used in agriculture, Ahmet Sorgun, head of KOSKI, said.
The sewage treatment plant was launched to the press during World Environment Week. Emphasizing the importance of sewage treatment plants for residential areas, Sorgun said that the plant was necessary for the Konya basin because the region receives little rainfall. The underground water level has reduced sharply, and the Konya region and its surroundings have the least surface water levels in Turkey. The plant has been under the construction for four years, Sorgun said, and would begin to operate by the end of June 2009. Sorgun has announced the importance of the work the plant will do in terms of the environment as the treated water will be used for agricultural purposes. The plant, which cost $28.5 million and covers 750,000 square meters, has state of the art technology; 80% of the energy needed will be produced by the plant itself.
Mentioning the public’s awareness of the necessity for water conservation, especially among primary school students, Sorgun said that the amount of water used in primary schools dropped by 22% between 2007 and 2008. “In the Konya basin only 5 percent of water consumption is for domestic and industrial use — 95 percent of water is used for agriculture. The primary savings should be made in agricultural irrigation.”
