VAN - Wan ÇEV-DER President Ali Kalçık stated that 800 liters of sewage water per second from the Van Central Biological Wastewater Treatment Plant, which was established against pollution, is poured into Wan(Van) Lake.

 

The construction of the "Van Central Biological Wastewater Treatment Plant", which was started in Iskele District in 2018 by the Water and Sewerage Administration (VASKİ), affiliated to the Wan Metropolitan Municipality, was completed in 2021. The facility, which was attended by First Lady Emine Erdoğan, the wife of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and cost 180 million TL, was built to meet the 50-year purification needs of the city and to prevent further pollution of Lake Wan; however, after a while, the lake started to be polluted by the waters flowing from the facility.

 

'TREATMENT FACILITY IS POLLUTING THE LAKE'

 

Ali Kalçık, Chairperson of the Wan Environmental and Historical Artifacts Protection Research and Development Association (Van ÇEV-DER), stated that 1,800 liters of sewage water per second is poured into Lake Wan from the facility. Kalçık said: “This is a very serious problem. This environmental pollution must be stopped. The image and pollution should never have happened. At that time, First Lady Erdoğan said that they would do a basin study. After 1 month, both the bottom mud would be cleaned and the basin study would be done. But this work has not been done."

 

VAN FISH IS IN DANGER

 

Condemning the fact that the bottom mud in the lake was not cleaned, Kalçık said: "The technique in the world is that a ship goes into the sea, finds out where there is mud on the bottom, and there is a boat right next to it. It puts the bottom mud in that boat. The bottom mud in that boat needs to be disposed of. But Unfortunately, there is a perception study for cleaning of the bottom mud. They poured into the city. There is a bad smell that cannot be stopped in the summer. The most basic problem is for perception purposes, for profit purposes. The so-called bottom mud is being cleaned. We need to protect such values. The life of the wan fish has come to an end. This shows us that living organisms here do not have a chance to survive anymore."

 

‘REEDS FIELD ARE FILLED AND OPENED FOR ZONING’

 

Pointing out that more than 100 streams flow into the lake, Kalçık said: "The lake has withdrawn due to drought. There is a decrease of around 50 percent in the water flowing in all the creeks. We see that the water level of the Zernek, Koçköprü, Morgedik and Sarı Mehmet dams, especially in Wan(Van), has dropped below 30 percent. Even though we are in late May and it rains every day, it is like this. There is a situation. This is a serious threat. Especially when we look at Erdîş Çelebibağ, we see that the water has been withdrawn for one kilometer. As if this were not enough, a road was built on the reeds on the lake shore. It was opened for construction and agriculture. Lake Wan and its surroundings are being destroyed before our eyes."