The Konya Basin, which is considered the granary of Turkey, is virtually under the threat of “desertification” due to years of wrong agricultural practices, wild irrigation and drought caused by climate change. Although 2 percent of Turkey’s usable surface water resources and 17 percent of its underground water resources are located in the Konya Closed Basin, 40 percent of the amount of underground water used throughout the country is withdrawn from the ‘Konya Closed Basin’. This situation leads to the crater-shaped sinkhole problem. So much so that, while the number of sinkholes in the basin exceeds 2,500, groundwater continues to be withdrawn from 250 to 300 meters in the northern and central parts despite all the warnings. The extent of wild water consumption and waste in the Konya Plain is reflected in the Konya Plain Project Action Plan (KOP) 2021-2023 data.
UNSEEN WASTE
According to the data and statements reflected from KOP, while approximately 863 thousand hectares of land have been opened to irrigation in the region so far, the modern pressurized irrigation network is used only in 134 thousand 209 hectares. Evaluating the emerging picture, Dursun Yıldız, the President of the Water Policies Association and a former DSI Administrator, said, “Approximately 60 percent of the water drawn in the Konya Closed Basin cannot be used due to network inadequacy. Unfortunately, 400 million cubic meters of water are wasted annually in the Konya plains. This rate is the same as the amount of water that will come from the Blue Tunnel system. Considering the water scarcity in the region, these areas need to be rehabilitated urgently,” he said.
414 MILLION CUBIC METERS
Drawing attention to the fact that the basin is becoming a desert day by day, Yıldız listed the following warnings: “The region is also the basin that receives the least amount of rainfall in the country. Water resources are about to be depleted. It is planned to transfer a total of 414 million cubic meters of water per year from the Blue Tunnel project, which is planned to be implemented to meet the need. “100 million cubic meters of this amount will be given to Konya as drinking water, and the rest will irrigate 65 thousand hectares of agricultural land.”
URGENT MEASURE!
“There are 3 million hectares of agricultural land in the basin. 15 billion cubic meters of water are needed annually to irrigate all of the land. The total amount of currently usable underground and surface water resources is only 4 billion 360 million billion cubic meters. The irrigation area belonging to 439 underground irrigation cooperatives in the basin is a total of 212 thousand 842 hectares. A large part of the area that is being irrigated with 4,750 licensed cooperative wells is experiencing a significant loss of water due to the classical system. “Cooperative fields need to be converted into a closed system. Otherwise, the Konya plains and basin will turn into a desert.”
SHOULD BE LIMITED
On the other hand, regarding the region at risk of desertification, Karapınar Chamber of Agriculture Secretary General Nuri Özdil draws attention to the fact that there is a total of 1 million 300 thousand acres of agricultural land in Karapınar. Özdil emphasizes that irrigated production is carried out in one million acres and dry production, that is, production dependent on rainfall, is carried out in 300 thousand acres.
Selçuk University Faculty of Agriculture Academician Prof. Dr. Mithat Direk is also one of the experts who said that the drought has given a red alert: “Our warnings have not been heeded for years. We need to learn how to use water efficiently, especially in Konya and Karapınar, We need to discuss with the scientific world how we can get high yields with limited irrigation methods and implement new projects.”
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