Biological Treatment Plant to Deliver Cleaner Coastlines

Advanced Biological Treatment Facilities for Clean Coastlines For the Sea of Marmara, designated as a "special environmental protection zone," the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, along with municipalities and governorates with coastal areas, have identified 18 strategic targets, with 43 main activities and 130 sub-activities currently underway. Under the "Marmara Sea Action Plan," advanced biological treatment facilities being constructed by Balıkesir Water and Sewerage Administration (BASKİ) are progressing in Bandırma, which will serve 175,000 people, and in Erdek, which will serve 62,000 people. In addition to support from the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, the facilities are being constructed with funding from the European Union Support Project (IPA2). Twenty-two percent of the facilities have been completed. The facilities, which include infrastructure and sewerage plans for the municipalities and are scheduled to be completed in April of next year, will address environmental problems along the Marmara coastline once operational.  

"You don't control the water; you have to manage your water"

  BASKİ General Director İzzet Günal stated that Balıkesir has 175 kilometres of coastline along the Aegean Sea and 115 kilometres along the Sea of Marmara. Emphasising the importance of treatment facilities, Günal said: "The advanced biological treatment facility in Bandırma will handle approximately 25,000 cubic metres daily and serve 175,000 people. The facility in Erdek will handle 8,700 cubic metres daily and serve 62,000 people. You don't control the water; you have to manage your water. This is possible with proper financing, a proper project and the right team, and we have reached the point of delivery. The projects will, God willing, be implemented starting in April of next year."

"We must take care of the environment"

Günal also mentioned that the capacity of the wastewater treatment facility in Balıkesir city centre will be increased. Emphasising that they generate electrical energy from solid waste at the facilities, Günal concluded: "We want to create a healthy environment that looks to the future with confidence. With the implementation of these projects, God willing, our city will make substantial gains in this regard. In other words, we must take care of the environment. If we don't, the environment takes its revenge on those who neglect it. We saw this with the example of mucilage, we see it with floods, and we experience it with air, climate change and drought-related problems. Let us care for today so that future generations can care for tomorrow." Source: (AA)