PRESS RELEASE 22 MARCH - WORLD WATER DAY

PRESS RELEASE

22 MARCH - WORLD WATER DAY

World Water Day, aiming to draw attention to the sustainable management of world’s scarce water resources is celebrated this year on 22 March with the theme “water and wastewater”.

Due to various factors such as population growth, industrialization and climate change, water resources across the world are under a great pressure not only in terms of quality but also in terms of quantity. Serious problems still exist in some parts of the world concerning access to clean, heathy and sufficient amount of water which is indispensable for life. On the other hand, bulk of the wastewater generated globally flows back into the ecosystem without being treated or reused, causing not only problems for human health and environment but also economic losses.

The growing gap between natural water sources and demand for water necessitates treatment of wastewater by means of appropriate technology and thereafter reuse of wastewater in areas such as agriculture, irrigation and energy. Treatment of wastewater without posing risks to human health and environment and providing additional input to the economy by reusing wastewater play a key role in ensuring sustainable development.

As a matter of fact, within the framework of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, it is foreseen to halve the proportion of untreated wastewater and promote safe reuse globally by 2030. Furthermore, safe reuse of treated wastewater is among the targets of the “circular economy” approach adopted by the EU recently.

Wastewater management is an important element of the efforts undertaken to align with the EU legislation regarding the Chapter on Environment and Climate Change which was opened to negotiations on 21 December 2009. In addition to studies undertaken to transpose the related EU Acquis and improve administrative capacity, various EU supported infrastructure projects have been successfully carried out in Türkiye.

During the financial period 2002-2006, a total of 22,5 million Euro was spent from EU funds for wastewater infrastructure projects. Regarding the programming period between 2007-2013, the construction phase of 27 water and wastewater infrastructure projects with a total budget of approximately 650 million Euro has started and among these, 13 finalized projects are currently in operation.

Concerning EU funds for the period 2014-2016, a total of 79 million Euro is dedicated to investments on water sector. Preparatory studies on related projects are still ongoing.

Each and every progress achieved for alignment with the EU’s legislation on wastewater management and its implementation directly contribute to the improvement of the life quality of our citizens.

Respectfully announced to the public.