In Izmir, which has been unable to get rid of bad smells and pollution for years, the problems have increased since August 20th. Although the recent decrease in air temperatures has reduced the smell to some extent, fish deaths and color changes in the water continue in certain neighborhoods. Experts state that it is not possible to solve the problem in the short term. Hopes in Izmir are pinned on the heavy rain expected this week. Many factors ranging from the Gulf current systems to ship bilges have been listed as the reasons for the sudden increase in pollution in Izmir at the end of last month. According to Prof. Dr. Doğan Yaşar, a member of the Environment, Biodiversity and Climate Change Working Group of the Turkish Academy of Sciences, all these reasons are just excuses. Yaşar is of the opinion that it will not be possible to get rid of this problem without the biological treatment systems being operated at full efficiency.
EMERGENCY ACTION PLAN
The “Izmir Gulf Coordination Board”, which was established by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change to present research and solution proposals regarding mass fish deaths and pollution, will announce its emergency action plan by the end of this month. According to what was learned from the board’s work, the acceleration of the 4th stage of the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Çiğli Wastewater Treatment Plant and the addition of new stages have come to the agenda. In fact, the Ministry’s statements state that the measures to be taken are being evaluated in line with the opinions of scientists.
THE CURRENT SYSTEM IS PERFECT
Prof. Dr. Doğan Yaşar, whom we asked about the latest situation in İzmir and the steps to be taken while preparing the emergency action plan, also emphasized advanced biological treatment. Stating that the problem in İzmir dates back to the 1960s, Prof. Dr. Yaşar gave the following information: “The most important reason for the pollution is that the purification systems are not working. There is a perfect current system in the Aegean. The pollution originates from the Gulf of Izmir. “The plankton blooms that occurred in previous years were also seen last year. We also saw fish kills.”
MUNICIPALITIES ARE RESPONSIBLE
Stating that mass fish deaths have increased much more this year, Yaşar continued as follows: “The first plankton blooms and fish deaths in İzmir Bay were seen in 1955. Then, after the Çiğli Treatment Plant came into service in the 2000s, recovery began and the sea turned blue. It has even reached a level where you can swim in some places. During the mayorship of the late Ahmet Piriştina, the Gulf was in good condition. However, after that, pollution increased again. After 2005, when factories closed their treatment facilities under the management of Aziz Kocaoğlu, pollution in the Gulf began to reach high levels.”
STRANGE EXPLANATIONS
Criticizing the local government in Izmir, Prof. Dr. Yaşar noted the following: “Last week, while Kocaoğlu was still saying let’s open a circulation channel, Tunç Soyer said in his statement ‘there is no need for this’, Cemil Tugay said ‘the reason for this is global warming; after that, it is bilge ballast water’. Tunç Soyer shows pictures of himself swimming and pictures taken in the outer gulf, which has never had a pollution problem, and says simply, ‘I left the gulf clean.’ Very strange statements.“
HE WARNED YEARS AGO
Prof. Dr. Yaşar, whose report titled “Examination and Modeling of the Gulf Current System” was published by Dokuz Eylül University in 2010, also shared a letter he wrote to the then Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tunç Soyer with Haber Global Web Özel in 2020. Drawing attention to the reasons for the pollution in the Gulf in this letter, Yaşar emphasizes the concreting of the streams. Prof. Dr. Yaşar, regarding this situation, which he also shows among the reasons for today’s pollution, said, “You are still concreting the streams, that is, you are continuing the massacre of nature. You are killing microbiological life. And you are causing the bay to smell more and more every day.” he says.
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