Wastewater discharged into seas and rivers: Thermal power plants released tonnes of waste
Thermal power plants and mines produce billions of tonnes of waste. According to TÜİK thermal plants and mining enterprises discharged 76 percent of roughly 9 billion cubic metres of wastewater into the seas. Thermal power plants discharged the largest amount of wastewater.
Thermal power plants and mines threaten nature, human life and the health of animals. Although many countries have given up thermal power plants Türkiye insists on keeping these plants in operation. Across the country there are 57 coal and lignite fired thermal power plants. The number of planned coal and lignite fired thermal plants is 17. The plants not only destroy nature and health they also generate hazardous waste. According to TÜİK while the amount of water used by municipalities, mining and industry increased by 5 percent in 2024 thermal power plants discharged the most wastewater. Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK) published the 2024 Water and Wastewater Statistics. According to this while municipalities, manufacturing workplaces, thermal power plants, organised industrial zone (OSB) directorates, mining enterprises and villages drew a total of 19.2 billion cubic metres of water from water resources in 2022 this figure rose to 20.3 billion cubic metres in 2024. In other words the amount of water used by industry and mines also increased.
75 PERCENT DISCHARGED INTO THE SEA
Of the water withdrawn in 2024 54.6 percent came from the sea, 23.6 percent from groundwater and 21.8 percent from surface waters which means that 45.4 percent in total was obtained from freshwater resources. Of the water drawn from the sea 93.8 percent was used for cooling. Of the water drawn from freshwater resources 81 percent was supplied by municipalities, 7.3 percent by manufacturing workplaces, 5.8 percent by mining enterprises and OSB directorates, 4.3 percent by villages and 1.6 percent by thermal power plants. In 2024 municipalities, manufacturing workplaces, thermal power plants, OSB directorates, mining enterprises and villages discharged a total of 17.2 billion cubic metres of wastewater directly into receiving environments. Of the total wastewater discharged 50.2 percent, that is roughly 8.5 billion cubic metres, was discharged by thermal power plants. Of the wastewater 13.8 percent was discharged directly into receiving environments by manufacturing workplaces, 1.7 percent by OSB directorates and 1.6 percent by mining enterprises. Of the wastewater directly released into receiving environments 75.9 percent was discharged into seas, 19.5 percent into rivers and 1.1 percent into reservoirs.
PER CAPITA USE 255 LITRES
According to the data the average daily amount of water drawn per person by municipalities for the drinking and utility water network was calculated as 255 litres. In the three largest cities the average daily amount of water drawn per person was found to be 203 litres for İstanbul, 270 litres for Ankara and 215 litres for İzmir. The average daily amount of wastewater discharged per person through the sewerage network by municipalities was calculated as 210 litres. In the three largest cities the average daily amount of wastewater per person was found to be 291 litres for İstanbul, 209 litres for Ankara and 186 litres for İzmir.
WATER MANAGEMENT MUST BE OVERHAULED URGENTLY
Doğa Derneği Chair Murat Demir briefly said the following: "Thermal power plants operate with a water based system. They draw water from lakes, rivers or from underground by drilling. When we look at industry as a whole water consumption is very high. In many lines of work production technology does not operate with advanced technology. This increases consumption and water pollution. Industries also discharge the water they use and pollute into rivers, soil or the sea. Very few industrial zones have treatment plants but even the wastewater that goes through that process is discharged again. There have been water cuts in every city this year. There is no water management. If citizens are being called on to save water ministries should also make this call for savings to industrialists and put in place work to ensure the use of new technology."
Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Termik santrallar tonlarca atık saçtı, published in BirGün newspaper on December 10, 2025.
