Ankara is facing an ongoing water crisis as severe drought and crumbling infrastructure trigger daily outages across Türkiye’s capital, fueling widespread criticism of the city's management.
Dam reservoir levels have dropped to 1.12 percent and taps are being shut off for several hours a day in certain districts on a rotating schedule in the city, forcing many residents to line up at public fountains to fill pitchers.
City officials say water shortages that have affected many districts for weeks are primarily the result of the worst drought in decades.
Memduh Akçay, head of the Ankara water authority, said 2025 was the driest year in at least 50 years.
“The year 2025 was a record year in terms of drought. The amount of water feeding the dams fell to historically low levels, to 182 million cubic metres in 2025, compared with 400 to 600 million cubic metres in previous years," he explained.
The municipal administration has faced criticism over its handling of the crisis, with critics citing incompetence as the primary cause of the city's water woes.
Rejecting this criticism, the city hall says Ankara is suffering from the effects of climate change and a growing population, which has doubled since the 1990s to nearly six million inhabitants.
A new pumping system drawing water from below the required level in dams will ensure development, Ankara's city hall said, but added that the problem would persist in the absence of sufficient rainfall.
Ankara is not alone. Much of Türkiye experienced severe drought last year, and İzmir, the country’s third-largest city on the Aegean coast, has also been implementing daily water cuts since last summer.
