Turkey water management and environmental regulation

Turkey continues to manage regional water infrastructure and environmental protection initiatives. In Kocaeli, the municipality reported treating over 177 million cubic meters of wastewater in 2025, with ongoing investments in Körfez and Yeniköy facilities to reach 100 percent advanced biological treatment capacity. Infrastructure projects are also advancing in Diyarbakır, which is constructing a second plant to double its daily supply capacity to 536,000 cubic meters, and in Konya, where new facilities are being planned to protect Lake Beyşehir. In Istanbul, authorities have removed 59 illegal structures from the Ömerli Basin to safeguard drinking water. In Ankara, dam occupancy levels were reported at 42.36 percent.

However, regulatory challenges and pollution incidents persist. In Yalova’s Çınarcık district, a swimming ban was implemented in the Marmara Sea following the detection of pollution. Investigations revealed that untreated wastewater from the Çınarcık Municipality was leaking through multiple points, and the Mavi Deniz Wastewater Treatment Union was discharging waste from non-operational facilities into the Teşvikiye Stream. These incidents resulted in combined administrative fines exceeding 7 million lira for the municipality and the union. Additionally, a power outage in Antalya’s Kaş district caused a wastewater leak into the sea at Çukurbağ Peninsula, leading to an 839,000 lira fine for the local metropolitan municipality.