(MENAFN- AzerNews)
By News Centre
Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat
Kurum made statements at the Izmir Gulf Coordination Board Meeting.
Minister Kurum said, "What is happening in the Gulf today is a
truly great environmental disaster. The amount of ammonia in the
sea from wastewater is exactly 50 times more than it should be. To
emphasize; there is currently no life left in some parts of our
Gulf." Minister Kurum said, "We warned the municipality 13
times."
Here are the statements of the Minister Kurum;
I greet you with love, respect and reverence. Today, we are in our
beautiful Izmir, in a very meaningful time, Izmir's Liberation
Week.
As you know, our Izmir Gulf has recently come to the fore again
with mass fish deaths, bad smells and images.
Today, we are on our TÜBİTAK Ship. We are conducting the
necessary field work with our scientists, governors, and
municipalities to see those images and their causes that make us
all ache.
Our Gulf of Izmir is a natural wonder that is the apple of the
world's eye. This is where the enemy was driven into the sea during
the War of Independence. It is the most meaningful point and
magnificent region of our Blue Homeland. It is the symbolic place
of our independence. This place is a piece of heaven with its
beautiful islands, salt flats, lagoons, bird sanctuary and
lagoons.
"Exactly 50 times more than it should be"
Unfortunately, today; all these beauties I listed are in danger,
they are literally dying. Our Izmir Gulf can no longer breathe due
to pollution coming from the land. Our fish are experiencing mass
deaths.
As the Ministry, we recently took action to investigate the
reasons for this painful situation. We took sea water samples from
different points of the gulf.
I am sorry to say that. The amount of ammonia in the sea from
wastewater is 50 times more than it should be.
So what does this mean? It means that domestic and industrial
waste is mixed into water without being purified. This brings with
it an odor problem and threatens human health.
"There is no life in some parts of our
Gulf"
When we look at the oxygen in the sea, we see a similar picture.
While the oxygen level in the Gulf of Izmir should be 6
milligrams/liter, this level has dropped to 1.8, and in some places
to 0.
In the Monitoring Results made by Izmir Metropolitan
Municipality, it was seen that pollution parameters showed a
serious increase especially after 2020.
Currently, in the Inner Gulf; harmful substances such as total
phosphorus, Chlorophyll-a and Ammonium nitrogen are exactly 2 times
higher than the limit values. Unfortunately, in our Inner Gulf;
water movement and circulation in the sea has come to a
standstill.
To underline it; there is currently no life left in some parts
of our Gulf. Our fish have died because they were left without
oxygen.
When we look at the condition of the 7 streams that flow into
our gulf, we see that the result is deplorable. Today, the water in
the streams is in the worst condition in history in terms of
"organic pollution".
I would like to underline two important issues. As you know; the
Grand Canal Project was carried out to clean the Gulf of Izmir. In
this project; due to the fact that rainwater and sewage networks
were combined; exactly 5.5 times more polluted and solid matter
flows into the sea. This is truly a vital problem for our sea.
Again; the inefficient operation of the Çiğli wastewater
treatment plant is another problem. As the Ministry; we have warned
the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality many times because the Çiğli
Wastewater Treatment Plant is not operated properly. We have
imposed 13 separate fines totaling more than 6 million liras in the
last 5 years.
The reason for these penalties is that the facility is not
operated properly; it pollutes Izmir Bay more than the previous day
every day. I ask you to pay attention to this. We took samples from
Çiğli Wastewater Treatment Plant 12 days ago, on August 23. The
analysis result upset us again. Because the solid matter value in
the facility has increased to exactly 4 times the limit it should
be.
Well, why does this problem arise? Let me explain it to our
citizens simply! The installed capacity of the Çiğli wastewater
treatment plant is approximately 605,000 cubic meters per day. But
the amount of wastewater coming to the plant exceeds 700,000 cubic
meters per day.
"What is happening in the Gulf is a complete
environmental disaster"
Excess wastewater coming to the facility is not treated in the
facility; a very high amount of solid waste is directly dumped into
the central bay without being treated. It accumulates at the bottom
of our Izmir Bay, increases the bottom mud, and deeply affects
living things.
We will sit crooked and talk straight. What is happening in the
Gulf today is a great environmental disaster. The ecosystem of the
Gulf of Izmir has now come to the point of complete collapse; the
Gulf of Izmir is dying.
Those responsible for this beautiful sea becoming what it is are
those who said in election campaigns, "We will swim in the Gulf of
Izmir" but did not take a single step for the gulf while they were
in office.
Those responsible are the ones who are now making a fool of
themselves by saying, "These fish do not belong to us, they were
brought in by ships" in order to hide their crimes.
The ones responsible for this pollution are the municipalities
that cannot even separate rainwater and sewage channels, cannot
even operate established wastewater facilities, and are incapable
of even rehabilitating their streams.
As the Ministry, we will continue to do our duty of monitoring
and supervising those responsible for Izmir with determination. We
have established our scientific board. We will discuss what we will
do with our scientists, NGO representatives and public institutions
in the coordination meeting we will hold soon.
Hopefully, our board will guide local governments from now on.
Our scientists will create roadmaps and give homework to local
administrators in Izmir on combating pollution.
As the Ministry, we will follow up instantly whether the
municipalities are doing their homework or not. If there are any
deficiencies, we will tell you.
MENAFN05092024000195011045ID1108640012
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.