Drought-hit cities now battle overflowing dams

ISTANBUL

Dams across several provinces in Türkiye initiated controlled water discharges this week, as reservoirs, which just months ago faced severe drought and an impending water crisis, reached peak capacity due to sudden and torrential precipitation.

Türkiye has just left behind an extraordinarily cool and record-breaking wet May. Regions such as Central Anatolia and the Black Sea shattered 103-year-old rainfall records.

Cities traditionally known for arid climates broke decades-long precipitation records, remarkably, the total spring rainfall typically distributed over months in İzmir and Antalya fell within a single week this May.

This unprecedented downpour drove reservoirs in multiple provinces to maximum capacity, necessitating controlled water evacuations to mitigate spillover and flood risks.

Reservoirs supplying the northwestern province of Bursa’s drinking water have reached full capacity following months of intense rainfall and snowmelt. This prompted authorities to initiate controlled water discharges amid close monitoring of potential downstream flood risks.

The Doğancı and Nilüfer dams, which plummeted to critically low levels approximately seven months ago during a severe drought, have now fully recovered to 100 percent capacity.

The dramatic 220-day transition from near-zero to maximum capacity has shifted public anxiety, a city previously on high drought alert is now concerned whether the current reservoir levels pose an imminent flood threat.

In the eastern province of Elazığ, controlled water evacuations commenced at the Pembelik Dam following the opening of its spillway gates.

The Enne Dam, a vital regional water source in the western city of Kütahya, surpassed 100 percent capacity to hit its highest level in three years.

Authorities also announced controlled water releases from seven dams across Diyarbakır, Siirt and Mardin in the country’s southeast, issuing strict warnings to citizens to stay clear of dam basins and riverbeds.