12.08.2026 23:21
Teams from the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change determined that wastewater was discharged into the Marmara Sea without treatment during their inspection at the Ambarlı Advanced Biological Wastewater Treatment Plant. An administrative fine of 8,391,988 lira was imposed on İSKİ, and it was revealed that the facility had been fined twice before as well.
Teams from the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change in Istanbul imposed a fine of 8 million 391 thousand TL on Istanbul Water and Sewerage Administration (ISKI), affiliated with the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, following inspections conducted in response to news and images alleging that sewage waste was being discharged into the Sea of Marmara from the Ambarlı Advanced Biological Wastewater Treatment Plant.
4 DISCHARGE POINTS DETECTED
According to a statement from the Ministry; following reports in the press that sewage waste was being discharged into the Sea of Marmara from the ISKI Ambarlı Advanced Biological Wastewater Treatment Plant, teams from the Provincial Directorate of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change initiated an investigation at the said treatment plant in Haramidere and along the Ambarlı coast of the Sea of Marmara. Technical inspections identified 4 discharge points belonging to the facility. It was observed that two of these points were connected to the Continuous Wastewater Monitoring System (CWMS) cabinet and were being measured regularly. Of the other two points, one was determined to be a flood line and the other a bypass line.
MINISTRY IDENTIFIES 2 LINES NOT CONNECTED TO MONITORING SYSTEM
The source of the pollution seen in the images reflected in the press and on social media was assessed to potentially originate from the bypass line. The inspection determined that the flood and bypass lines had no flow meters and were not connected to the CWMS cabinet. Analyses of wastewater samples taken from the bypass line revealed that the wastewater was being discharged directly into the receiving environment without any treatment process. In accordance with the Environmental Law, an administrative fine of 8 million 391 thousand 988 TL was imposed.
The facility, which has an installed capacity of 400 thousand cubic meters per day, is operating at full capacity, and it is estimated that approximately 100 thousand cubic meters of wastewater is discharged daily through the bypass line. Inspections along the Ambarlı coast also revealed that solid materials brought by the wastewater discharged from the bypass line caused severe pollution.
FINE IMPOSED TWICE BEFORE
Due to the wastewater discharges made through this bypass line, ISKI had previously been fined 3 million 343 thousand TL on May 26, 2025, under Environmental Law No. 2872, and later, as the facility continued discharging wastewater, a fine of 6 million 687 thousand TL was imposed on January 16, 2026, with a double penalty. The problem was identified as stemming from the insufficient capacity of the wastewater treatment plant.