Turkey Drought Brings Desert Conditions

The drought in Turkey brings desert conditions to parts of Turkey. The drought also brought a great deal of finger pointing at officials who are accused of not taking steps to increase the water supply to Istanbul and the Turkish capital Ankara in time to avoid hardship.

While drought conditions have abated somewhat since last summer and steps have been taken to bring more water to the cities the long term forecast is not good. You can not pump in water that is not in the reservoirs.

Last summer was a frightening one for Turkey’s major cities. In the capital Ankara, water was not available for three consecutive days. It was announced by officials, “Later on we will have plenty of water.” Very helpful, eh? The University then issues a warning that “water remaining in pipes for three days will not be drinkable; otherwise, we will experience an epidemic outbreak.” The ministry of health set up a crisis center and waits anxiously.

The near complete lack of water in Turkey last year exposed just how quickly a city can be brought to its knees when water service stops. Not only is there the danger of epidemics and other health issues but an enraged population can be difficult and dangerous to cope with.

During the worse of last summer’s drought the best that government officials could seem to do was to turn to prayer. Prayer may help, hopefully it does, but it seems that prayer coupled with better planning and water conservation measures might have a better chance of succeeding.

Government officials all over the world in cities threatened by drought, like Sidney, Australia and Atlanta, Georgia, USA, should take note of Turkey’s plight. Prayer alone may not do the job. After all there is an old saying that God helps those who help themselves.

In spite of numerous prayers Lake Bafa, an important water resource in Turkey, is perishing due to pollution and drought. If next Summer is as bad as the last one Turkey is in for a very bad time of it in 2008.

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