Minister Kurum: Izmir Bay can no longer breathe due to pollution coming from land.

Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum, along with scientists and TUBITAK Marmara Ship, conducted inspections in the gulf after the mass fish deaths in Izmir. The inspections included Izmir Governor Süleyman Elban, AK Party Deputy Chairman Hamza Dağ, AK Party Youth Branch President and Izmir Deputy Eyyüp Kadir İnan, AK Party Izmir Deputy Ceyda Bölünmez Çankırı, AK Party Provincial Chairman Bilal Saygılı, Menemen Mayor Aydın Pehlivan, and scientists. After the inspection, Minister Kurum made a press statement and said, "Recently, our Izmir Gulf has come to the agenda again with mass fish deaths, bad smells, and images. Today, we are on our TUBITAK Ship. We are conducting necessary field work with our scientists, governor, and municipalities to see those images and their causes that hurt all of us."

'IZMIR GULF CAN NO LONGER BREATHE'

Minister Kurum, who stated that Izmir Gulf is a natural wonder that is the apple of the world's eye, said, "This is the place where the enemy poured into the sea during the War of Independence. It is the most meaningful point of our blue homeland, the most magnificent region. It is the symbol place of our independence. This place is a paradise with its beautiful islands, salt pans, dalyans; bird paradise and lagoons. Unfortunately, today; all these beauties are in danger, they are almost dying. Izmir Gulf can no longer breathe due to pollution coming from the land. Our fish are experiencing mass deaths. As the Ministry, we have taken action in recent days to examine the causes of this painful situation. We have taken sea water samples at different points of the gulf. Unfortunately, the amount of ammonia in the sea water, which is caused by wastewater, is 50 times higher than it should be," he said.

'OXYGEN LEVEL IN IZMIR GULF HAS DROPPED TO 0 IN SOME PLACES'

Murat Kurum, who stated that this situation means that domestic and industrial wastes are mixed with water without being treated, said, "This also brings the problem of odor and threatens human health. When we look at the oxygen in the sea, we encounter a similar scene. While the oxygen level in Izmir Gulf should be 6 milligrams/liter, this level has dropped to 1.8 and even 0 in some places. In the Monitoring Results conducted by Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, it is seen that pollution parameters have increased significantly, especially after 2020. Currently, in the Inner Gulf; harmful substances such as total phosphorus, Chlorophyll-a, and Ammonium nitrogen are 2 times higher than the limit values. Unfortunately, in our inner gulf; the water movement and circulation in the sea have come to a halt. It should be emphasized that there is no life in some parts of our gulf at the moment. Our fish have died because they have no oxygen. When we look at the condition of the 7 rivers flowing into our gulf, we see that the result is heartbreaking. Today, the water in the rivers is in the worst condition in terms of 'organic pollution' in history," he said.

'INEFFICIENT OPERATION OF CIGLI WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT IS ANOTHER PROBLEM'

Murat Kurum, who said that he wants to emphasize two important points, said, "The Great Canal Project was carried out to clean Izmir Gulf. In this project, due to the combination of rainwater and sewage networks; 5.5 times more dirty and solid matter flows into the sea. This is a vital problem for our sea. The inefficient operation of the Cigli Wastewater Treatment Plant is another problem. As the Ministry, we have warned Izmir Metropolitan Municipality several times because the Cigli Wastewater Treatment Plant is not operated properly. In the last 5 years, we have imposed more than 6 million liras in fines. The reason for these fines is that the facility is not operated properly; it pollutes Izmir Gulf more every day," he said.

'SOLID MATTER VALUE HAS INCREASED 4 TIMES MORE THAN THE LIMIT IT SHOULD BE'

Murat Kurum, who stated that they took a sample from the Cigli Wastewater Treatment Plant on August 23, said, "The analysis result has saddened us again. Because the solid matter value in the facility has increased 4 times more than the limit it should be. The installed capacity of the Cigli Wastewater Treatment Plant is approximately 605 thousand cubic meters per day. However, the amount of wastewater coming to the facility exceeds 700 thousand cubic meters per day. The excess wastewater coming to the facility is not treated in the facility; a very high amount of solid waste is discharged directly into the middle gulf without being treated. It accumulates at the bottom of Izmir Gulf, increases the sediment at the bottom, and deeply affects the living life," he said.

'IZMIR GULF IS DYING'

Murat Kurum, who said that what is happening in the gulf today is a major environmental disaster, said: "The ecosystem of Izmir Gulf has completely collapsed; Izmir Gulf is dying. The culprits for this beautiful sea coming to this state are those who said 'we will swim in Izmir Gulf' in election squares but did not take a single step for the gulf while in office. The culprits are those who now embarrass themselves by saying 'these fish do not belong to us, they were brought by ships' to hide their guilt. The culprits are the municipalities that cannot even separate rainwater and sewage channels, cannot even operate established wastewater treatment facilities, and cannot even rehabilitate their rivers. "

'WE WILL FORCE THEM TO TAKE ACTION'

Murat Kurum, who stated that as the Ministry, they will continue their monitoring and inspection duties for Izmir with determination, said, "We have formed our scientific committee. Hopefully, our committee will guide local administrations from now on. Our scientists will create roadmaps for fighting pollution for local administrators in Izmir and give them homework. As the Ministry, we will follow whether the municipalities are doing their homework or not instantly. If there are deficiencies, we will tell them. If there is a management weakness, we will warn them. If the necessary steps are not taken, we will force them to take action. Izmir Gulf cannot be left to its fate, ignored, or denied as it is done today. We will never allow this, we will not allow it. We will be the followers of everything done in Izmir Gulf moment by moment, 24/7," he said.

'HE CHOSE TO BE ABROAD'

Minister Kurum, who also answered the question about Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Cemil Tugay not attending the Izmir Gulf Coordination Board meeting, said, "We will hold a meeting of vital importance for Izmir Gulf with the Civil Society Organizations of Izmir, our scientists, and our governor.We wanted the Mayor of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality to attend this meeting and share his ideas, and to share what needs to be done with the relevant scientific committee. We invited him, but he preferred to be abroad. It seems that he has more important issues in Izmir. You may ask him why he did not attend. However, we will not watch Izmir being brought to this state. We will personally remind them of their duties."