Cause of the stench of Istanbul's water finally discovered
Turkish authorities have announced that the smell recently coming from Istanbulâs water network is caused by hot weather and seaweed, while some experts have claimed the change in the quality of water is carcinogenic.
The Istanbul Water and Sewerage Administration, or Ä°SKÄ°, released a written statement on July 23 to address public questions asking why Istanbul's tap water, which has been deemed âdrinkableâ by the authorities, had recently started to smell.
âThe change in the aesthetic quality of the water [smell], caused by the above-average temperatures, the decrease in the water levels of lakes and the process of seaweed creation, does not bring about any negative consequences for its usage,â the statement said.
However, Turkey's Chamber of Environmental Engineers (TMMOB), rejected Ä°SKÄ°âs conclusion that the change in the quality of water is harmless. According to TMMOB, the smell is due to substances that cannot be cleaned by current practices. Once these substances mix with chlorine, they become carcinogenic in the form of THM (Trihalomethane), and the âactive carbonâ that can clean these substances was only imported days after Istanbul faced the latest problem, potentially risking lives, TMMOB added.
âThere is clearly a lack of foresight,â TMMOB chair Baran BozoÄlu said, referring to Ä°SKÄ°âs response. "If the construction in Istanbulâs last remaining wooded areas in the north, like the third Bosphorus bridge project, continues, the megapolis will be left without its own water, becoming dependent on the industrialized Sakarya province reservoirs in the east, where the water is dirty."
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