INTRODUCTION

As in many countries, the structural framework of water resources development in Turkey has been gradually formed in line with the overall objectives of the country. Following the limited studies for development of water and soil resources in some regions of the country in 1930s, technical and scientific approaches and basin-wide studies have been commenced at late 1940s and accelerated with the establishment of relevant institutes.

The country is divided into 26 main hydrological basins and basin-wide master plans have been prepared. Mostly leading a demand-oriented approach, water-related projects are mainly developed for hydropower generation, irrigation, municipal water supply and flood protection.

There is a growing awareness that water resources development as well as all other types of development efforts must be sustainable. Sustainable development and management of water resources cannot be accomplished without a sound assessment of water resources, which can be described as the determination of the sources, extent, dependability, and quality of water resources, on which is based an evaluation of the possibilities for their utilisation and control. Water  resources  assessment  (WRA) is of critical importance for sustainability because of the predictable impacts of expanding population, increasing pollution and the heightened severity of extreme water-related events such as droughts and floods.

Sustainable use of water resources requires maintaining the integrity of the hydrologic whole. It is thus evident that isolated treatment of any component of the water resource system results in sub-optimal, if not unsatisfactory, solutions. For this reason, an integrated approach is inevitable for the rational management of water resources. In Turkey there is a great deal of effort in adopting the exercising an integrated approach to water resources management.

The major systematic aspect of water-related activities in Turkey is central planning. At national level five-year development plans are main instrument which aim at ensuring the optimum distribution of all kind of resources among various sectors of the economy. The link between planning in relevant sectors is the main concern. In order to guide planning at the national level and facilitate rational decision making in this respect, a special emphasis is given to develop an overall strategy based on inventory of natural resources including water resources.

On the basis of national objectives stipulated in the last five-year development plan of 1996-2000, the six most relevant social and economic objectives, which may be affected by water resources development are as follows:

            - sustainable economic development and industrialization

            - increase in overall welfare level

            - improvement in distribution of income

            - reduction in unemployment

            - improvement in education and technology

- protection and improvement of the environment

Although it is not defined as a single sector in the development plans, the water sector which is distributed to the other major sectors is one of the largest sector in public investments. The size and capital intensive characteristics of water resources development projects, especially in the case of financial constrains, emphasize the importance of water sector in the national economy.

WATER RESOURCES POTENTIAL OF TURKEY

The climate of Turkey is semi-arid with extremities in temperature. Climate and precipitation figures exhibit great variance throughout the country: in the higher interior Anatolian Plateau, winters are cold with late springs, while the surrounding coastal fringes enjoy the very mild-featured Mediterranean climate. Average annual precipitation is 643 mm, ranging from 250 mm in the southeastern part of the country, to over 3000 mm in the northeastern Black Sea coastal area. This average annual precipitation figure for Turkey corresponds to an average of 501 billion m³ of water per year. Approximately 70% of total precipitation falls from October to April, and there is little effective rainfall during summer months. The elements of water budget of Turkey are illustrated in Figure 1.

Of 501 billion m³ of annual precipitation, 274 billion m³ is assumed to evaporate from surface and transpire through plants. 69 billion m³ of precipitation directly recharges the aquifers, whereas 158 billion m³ forms the precipitation runoff. There is a continuous interaction between surface runoff and groundwater, but it is estimated  that a net 28 billion m³ of groundwater feeds the rivers. So, average annual surface water potential is 186 billion m³, with the surface runoff of 7 billion m³ coming from neighboring countries, total surface runoff within the country reaches 193 billion m³. Taking into the consideration that the amount of groundwater flow corresponds to 41 billion m³, the total runoff can be estimated as 234 billion m³. However, not all of the renewable water resources can be utilized because of economic and technical reasons. Exploitable portions of surface runoff, inflow from bordering countries, and groundwater are 95,3, and 12 billion m³, respectively. Thus, the total of exploitable water resources amount to 110 billion m³.

Optimal planning and rational management of water resources calls, first of all, for adequate and reliable data concerning, among others, quantity and quality of water depending on time and space as well as other meteorological variables that are of significant impact on both water supply and demand. In parallel with the effectual and practical procedures of water resource development projects and operation of facilities built in this respect, DSI carries out, and responsible for, the tasks associated with the observation and measurement of wide range of hydrometeorological and hydrological variables. These data observed, measured and processed by DSI include, primarily, water levels of lakes and ground-water, stream-flow rates, sediment loads and water quality in rivers as well as such meteorological variables as precipitation, temperature, evaporation and humidity.

State Meteorological Organisation (DMI) is the main institution responsible for establishment and operation of meteorology gauging stations for all around the country. DSI has contributed considerably to the establishment, operation and expansion of “Hydro-meteorological Observation Network of Turkey”, and is currently operating 1227 stream, 181 snow gauges  and 1080 water quality monitoring  stations located throughout Turkey, and about 400 meteorological stations at the project level. DSI works heavily to cope with the vast amount of data required to implement the ever-increasing number of water resources development projects in accordance with the rapid economic development of Turkey.

LEGISLATIVE AND INSTITUTIONAL ASPECTS

The basic legislation in water sector is the Turkish Constitution which states that water resources are natural wealth of the country, and under the authority of the State, to be used for the benefit of public. In this direction, the Turkish Civil Code covers water issues in two categories as common waters and private waters. Except some privately owned small springs, the development of water resources, including groundwater, are in general under the responsibility of the State. Nevertheless, utilization of groundwater resources is regulated by a specific law, which licenses the user upon request, within the limits of safe yield of relevant aquifer. Groundwater use rights can neither be transferred nor sold.

A number of governmental and non-governmental organisations have direct and indirect  interest in the development and conservation of  water resources in Turkey. Institutional framework has three levels; namely, decision making, executive and users level.  In decision making level, prime ministry, state planning organisation  and ministries take place. Governmental organisations under the ministries are at the executive level. There are both governmental and non-governmental organisations at the water users level for the operation and maintenance of the projects. The four main organisations responsible for development of water resources are General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works (DSI), General Directorate of Rural Services (GDRS), General Directorate of Bank of Provinces (Iller Bank), and General Directorate of  Electric Power Resources Survey and Development Administration (EIE).

DSI, under the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, is the major organisation responsible for the development and management of water resources.  DSI's main responsibilities cover the issues of observation, field investigation, master-plan, pre-feasibility, feasibility, design, construction and management for irrigation, hydraulic energy generation, domestic water supply (for the cities with the population more than 100 000), flood control.  Development, management and conservation of ground-water resources are also exclusively under the responsibility of DSI.

GDRS is administered under the Prime Ministry and responsible for construction of rural roads, communal buildings in rural areas, small reservoirs and small-scale irrigation schemes and for supplying drinking water to rural communities.

Iller Bank’s responsibilities include developing urban plans, supplying municipal water, constructing sewerage systems and treatment plants, and providing loans to municipalities for the  financing of such projects.

EIE is responsible for surveys on electric power and for rational use and conservation of it. EIE works in close coordination with DSI in collecting hydrometric data and development of hydro-power.

The Ministry of Environment is responsible, among other things, for setting policies, principles and rules, inspecting activities, coordinating studies, and enhancing public awareness on environmental aspects of  water resources.

Although all the agencies and public institutions defined above are involved in some aspects of the water resources, DSI is the primary institution authorised to plan and manage all aspects and issues of water resources. Thus, the following paragraphs  reflect exclusively the views of DSI.

PRESENT STATUS OF  WATER RESOURCES 

Water Resources Development

With the projects developed primarily by DSI and other institutions engaged in the water resources development, actual water consumption in Turkey as of 2000 reached 39.3 billion m³, which corresponds to only 36% economically exploitable water resources. Actual and projected water consumption figures in Turkey between 1990 and 2030 are given in Table 1. As seen in the table, most of the water is consumed through irrigation, which is not only the largest component of water consumption in Turkey but also the greatest consumer of funds allocated for water resources projects.  

In parallel with rapid economic development and industrialization, a considerable rise is observed in the use of electricity. Use of electrical energy rose from 23 275 GWh in 1980 to 111 022 GWh in 1998, indicating an increase of 477% in 18 years as shown in Table 2. Despite this increase, per capita electricity consumption is 1700 kWh, which is far less than the average consumption of 5000 kWh for the developed countries. On the other hand, it is seen that the share of hydroelectric energy in the total energy projects fell from 49% in 1980 down to 38% in 1998.

Table 2. Electric power generation in Turkey  

Although Turkey is not affluent in terms of hydroelectric potential, it is ranked in the first quartile within the European countries. In terms of developing water resources in Turkey, hydraulic energy generation takes an considerable portion. So far in Turkey, for the purpose of hydro-electric energy generation, 546 HPP's (Hydro-Electric Power Plants) have been developed at the various levels. As of the beginning of 2000, 125 HPP's have been put into the operation, 36 HPP's are under construction, and the other 385 HPP's are considered at the various project stages. 

According to studies made in the early 90s, exploitable hydroelectric energy of Turkey has been found to be 125 328 GWh/year. As of 2000 hydroelectric energy generation is 42 216 GWh/year. This figure indicates that so far only 34% of the exploitable hydroelectric energy has been developed. Trends in demand for electric power suggests that an energy shortage is imminent. For this reason, it is considered that hydroelectric energy should be given priority due to the fact that it poses much less of a threat for the environment compared to other types of energy sources.

In order to overcome the financial problems on investment of hydraulic energy, as of the end of 2000 a total of 14 HPP projects with a production potential 3 314 million KWh were constructed and taken into operation by private sector under BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer)  model. 6 BOT projects with the total installed capacity of 309 MW are currently  being under construction.22 HPP projects contracts have been signed. Contract negotiations of 23 HPP projects are under way.

On the other hand, there has been an important progress in the studies carried out by DSI with a turn-key model of 100 % foreign credit for the construction of large HPP. With this model within bilateral cooperation protocols made between Turkey and Austria, France, Russian Federation, Switzerland, USA, Canada and Norway. By means of 29 hydro-electric energy projects having total installed capacity of 7 709 MW,  25,5 billion KWh energy is planned to be generated.

So far in Turkey by means of the projects developed by DSI, domestic water of 1,931 billion m3 is being supplied to 15 cities. With the projects under construction, domestic water will be provided to 27 cities. In completion of the projects 0,854 billion m3 water will be provided. Finally at full development domestic water supply will reach to 2,785 billion m3 per year.

Studies for the development of water resources in Turkey began in 1930s. Initiated especially for the development of small-scale irrigation projects, the size and scope of these studies expanded in a relatively short period of time. But, it was not until late 1940s that basin-wide hydrologic assessment and master plan studies were started. Activities in this respect gained a momentum and accelerated with the establishment of the aforementioned institutions. These studies served as a blueprint and constituted a solid foundation at each stage of the basin-wide development efforts throughout Turkey. Master plan and individual studies were followed by intensive design and construction work which has so far contributed to the realization of 207 large and 931 small dams, of which are 578 are constructed by General Directorate of Rural Services (GDRS). Turkey is only one-third way through in developing its water resources potential.

Qualitative Assessment of Water Resources

As compared to studies carried out for the assessment of the quantity of water resources, qualitative assessment of water resources in Turkey is relatively new. The first prominent governmental action related to the qualitative assessment of water resources is the enactment of “Environmental Law” in 1983. The basic aim of this law is protecting the environment and preventing of pollution by applying the “polluter pays” principle. Thus, the law faces the problems of the environment in their largest dimension. The first article of the law specifies its purpose as being not only the prevention and elimination of pollution but also the preservation and utilization of natural resources in the most appropriate manner.

In accordance with the targets defined in the “Environmental Law,” the “Water Pollution Control Regulation” was prepared and became effective in 1988. In this regulation, two basic approaches to water resources have been adopted. First one of these approaches is the acceptance and treatment of water resources within the framework of an ecosystem and conservation of them in their existing conditions; the second one being the protection and improvement of water quality in accordance with the requirements of the country. Protection of drinking water supply reservoirs through buffer zones and land use restrictions, and control on waste-water discharge practices  are two critical aspects of the regulation.

The concept of environmental impact assessment (EIA) for proposed projects was introduced in the Environmental Law; and accordingly, EIA Regulation was issued in 1993 and revised in 1997. Within the framework of this regulation, storage facilities having more than 15 km² of reservoir surface area  and more than 100 million m³ of reservoir volume have been subject to full EIA studies. DSI has been carrying out EIA studies for those projects that fall into this category.

DSI started monitoring the quality parameters of water resources in 1979. Since then, the number of stations, where 52 different water quality parameters have been measured, has increased to 1080. However, each station monitors only some selected quality parameters the existence and/or some limit values of which are of critical importance for downstream users and/or for the ecosystem in general.

Despite all these efforts made for the control of water pollution, water quality in Turkey cannot be monitored and managed as desired due to some economic and regulatory problems. Though, some positive results of the above mentioned regulations are readily observed, it will take some time for the regulations and subsequent arrangements to take full effect and to bring forward more concrete results.

WATER RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT IN GAP  REGION

The South-eastern Anatolia Project (GAP) is the most comprehensive project ever implemented in Turkey. Beyond the dams, hydro-electric power plants, and irrigation schemes on the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers, GAP, as an integrated project envisages the development of communication, housing, industry, education, health and other services. On the basis of the relative position of the Region in the Nation's socio-economy, the development potential and problems, and the national development aspirations, the objectives for the development of the GAP region are set as follows:

·          To develop all the land and water resources in the Region, in order to achieve accelerated economic and social development,

·          To alleviate disparity between the Region and other regions by increasing production and welfare levels in the Region,

·          To increase the productivity and employment capacity in the Region,

·          To meet increased need for infrastructure resulting from population explosion and urbanisation,

·          To organise economic and physical infrastructure in rural areas, in such a way as to utilise the resources, in the most useful ways and to direct urban growth in desired directions,

·          To contribute to the national objectives of sustained economic growth and export promotion by efficient utilisation of the Region's resources.

As a large-scale and multisectoral regional development project, GAP comprises the lower reaches of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers within the boundaries of Turkey. The region covers an area of 75358 km2 in upper Mesopotamia, as it is historically known. GAP aims to develop the water resources of these rivers, which are the two main branches of the Tigris-Euphrates basin (the Shatt-Al-Arab), together with the available ground-water  resources in the region. At the border where the branches of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers leave Turkey, the annual average run-offs are 30 BCM and 16 BCM, respectively, the total of which corresponds to 25% of the country's average run-off.

South-eastern Anatolia Project, or GAP with its Turkish initials, is the biggest development project ever undertaken by Turkey, and one of the biggest of its kind in the world. The integrated, multi-sectoral project includes 13 major projects which are primarily for irrigation and hydro-power generation, planned by the State Hydraulic Works (DSI). The project envisages the construction of 22 dams and 19 hydro-electric power plants on the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and their tributaries. It is planned that at full development over. 1.7 million ha. of land will be irrigated and 27 billion kWh of electricity will be generated annually with an installed capacity over 7,500 MW. The area to be irrigated accounts for 19% of the economically irrigable area in Turkey (8.5 million ha), and the annual electricity generation accounts for 22 % of the country's economically viable hydro-power potential (125 billion kWh). GAP is now one of the most ambitious regional development projects ever attempted in the world. It covers, in addition to the irrigation and hydro-power schemes, all the related social and economic sectors including industry, transportation, mining, telecommunications, health, education, tourism, and infrastructure.

CONCLUSION

Turkey, having four seasons in a year, shows considerable differences in climatic conditions in the inland and coastal regions, the precipitation-flow relationship, which changes seasonally also shows considerable differences from year to year and natural water supply falls to minimum levels in summer time when the demands are maximum. Therefore, the water management presents a vital importance for the purpose of meeting water requirement changing with time and place. Furthermore, the periodic droughts exceeding approximately 5 years re-occurring almost every 15  years causes important problems and necessitates the development of the projects for water storage. The limited water of the country is distributed unevenly in time and space. In past  eight years an extreme drought conditions has taken place in Turkey. In this period Turkey has gain a great experience in water management.

Turkey is currently experiencing a tremendous fast growth in the economy and significant migration rural to urban areas, it is necessary to "re-engineer" present system to be more effective and efficient in their  planning and to better handle the operation and maintenance of their facilities to be able to meet the increasing demands for water resources. The solution for these problems and updating of technologies can be found in a comprehensive and centralised information.

Like in other parts of the world, Turkey faces the high population rate problems, which impose a significant pressure on meeting demands by developing new water resources projects. This makes necessary to implement new technologies and management strategies on the issue of water resource management.

Sustainable use of water resources requires maintaining the integrity of the hydrologic whole. It is thus evident that isolated treatment of any component of the water resource system results in sub-optimal, if not unsatisfactory, solutions. For this reason, an integrated approach is necessary for the rational management of water resources. In Turkey, there is a great deal of effort in adopting and exercising an integrated approach to water resources management.

For these reason either the implementation or O & M of water resources projects shall be gradually transferred from public sector to private in order to improve system performances, rational efficiency and sustain country's economic growth in water and the other sector. 

Unevenly distributed precipitation makes irrigation a must in almost all over the country. Drinking, agricultural and industrial water uses have direct effects on the development of countries and all human activities. Despite today's new technologies, it is not technically and economically feasible to utilise 100 % of total renewable water resources. Irrigation projects approximately with 75 % in water consumption occupy an important role in development process. It is a well-known fact that irrigation water is the most essential input for the incremental increase in agricultural production. It is a complete system for producing food and other substances.

Water resources projects are mainly financed by the public sector. The budget allocated for these projects has always been far from to cover the need. Because of the heavy investment cost of water resources projects it is necessary to move from today's heavy dependence on public financing to private sector.

Insufficient financial sources play an important role for the improvement of irrigation project during the investment, operation and maintenance activities. In this context private sector participation has gained a great importance. After the year of 1993, 1,75 million ha area which is corresponding to 81 % of total surface area operated by DSI has been transferred to the users.

As regards to the transfer of the management functions of the irrigation facilities to the users groups, the following considerations would be helpful to mention herewith:

(a) The main benefit to the State from transfer is to remove the O&M financial burden from DSI and thus from the Government. Transfer of each ha of irrigated land to users substantially reduces the need for the government O&M expenditures and the related cost recovery.

(b) Farmers' feeling a sense of ownership in transferred schemes has resulted in a better protection of the irrigation infrastructure which eventually leads to reduced maintenance and repair requirements.

(c) Water User Organizations (WUO's) have generally demonstrated the ability to operate and maintain the systems satisfactorily through recruiting required staff, buying urgently needed transportation and communication equipment, assessing and collecting water fees, equipping their offices and substantially improving water delivery at cost generally less than that incurred by DSI.  

In order to overcome the financial problems on investment of hydraulic energy and hence decreasing the financial responsibility of state budget, provision of technology transfer and on time implementation, the policy of the encouragement of local and foreign private sector has been adopted by Turkish government. In this way within the frame of Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Model and the %100 Foreign Credit Turn-Key Model, that came into force, therefore important improvements in realisation of hydro-electric projects have been obtained by private sector.  

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