Occupancy rate in drought-hit dams in Türkiye’s Thrace surge to 43%
In a remarkable turnaround, the dire situation developed due to extreme heat and drought in dams in Edirne, Kırklareli and Tekirdağ regions has notably improved.
The average occupancy rate of 14 dams in the Thrace region, which stood at 34% in November, has soared to 43% following the recent December rainfall.
According to the latest data from the State Hydraulic Works (DSI) Edirne 11th Regional Directorate, nearly 91.16 million cubic meters (3.219 billion cubic feet) of water replenished the dams during the last month alone.
The collective volume of water across the Thrace dams, initially at 383.07 million cubic meters on Nov. 20 and holding a capacity of 1.11 billion cubic meters, has now increased significantly to 474.23 million cubic meters.
Specifically, in the same period, the water reserves in the four dams located in Kırklareli surged from 89.25 million cubic meters to 101.44 million cubic meters.
Similarly, the four dams in Tekirdağ witnessed a substantial rise from 126.77 million cubic meters to 153.32 million cubic meters.
Kırklareli Chamber of Agriculture President Ekrem Şaylan told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the showers and snowfall in the last month had a profoundly positive impact on the dams, particularly in Kırklareli.
Expressing his contentment, Şaylan said: “In Kırklareli alone, approximately 13 million cubic meters of water has been added to our dams in just one month. This has brought joy to our farmers as they anticipate planting for the upcoming year. Foreseeably, I do not anticipate any issues concerning drinking water or irrigation for the dams.”