Is our tap water only used as drinking water?

Research should be carried out for the rate of use of tap water as drinking water and the problem of taste and trust in tap water should be overcome.

Tap water management, which is widely talked about and promised before the local government elections, will continue to be on the agenda in the coming days. 

One of the main promises of the candidates for local governments on water was to reduce water fees, but the issue of improving the quality of tap water was not mentioned much. There were even metropolitan municipalities that reduced water fees by 25 per cent as soon as they came to power.

Considering the deep poverty in our country and the fact that water is a human right, it becomes clear that water and environmental health services should be provided by local governments at the lowest price. In fact, water and environmental services should be provided free of charge as a public service to those who do not have the means to pay this price. In addition, in return for the water supply service fees collected from subscribers, services such as cheaper and higher quality water supply, collection of rainwater and advanced treatment of wastewater should be provided in the highest quality.

Human Right to Water 

As it is known, it is possible for municipalities to determine water tariffs within the scope of ‘human right to water’ by setting an upper limit not exceeding one fifth of the total monthly usage per household with the decision taken by the authorised decision bodies. The Presidential decision regarding this was published on 15/12/2021. This decision provides 3 m3 of the 15 m3 water usage fee free of charge. In addition, in some local administrations, a lower water fee is charged to those who use less water with the gradual water tariff application. Although these practices are partially beneficial in general, they must be reconsidered and revised in order to increase this benefit for those in need. 

In order to address this issue in another article, let us now present a few suggestions for our local governments to provide water as a public service in a more efficient and sustainable manner 

- Local administrations should conduct a detailed survey to determine the number of subscribers who do not use the water they supply as drinking water, even the number of people in the household and the reason for not using it.

- After this determination, planning should be made to eliminate the reasons why tap water is not preferred as drinking water.

- Considering that water services also include wastewater treatment and stormwater collection services, a realistic financing model should be established for these services.

- Many drinking water treatment plants in our country consist of conventional treatment units that will provide only drinking water standards. New units should be added to these facilities and efforts should be made to make tap water more palate-friendly.

- Asbestos pipes in the city network should be replaced to provide better quality, safe, uninterrupted and healthier drinking water service. This service will prevent leakages in the networks and ensure that the water reaches the fountains without being affected by the external environment and without loss of quality. 

- Another important issue that can affect tap water quality is the periodic cleaning of water tanks in buildings. This work should be encouraged by local administrations by providing labour force and technical equipment support to apartment or housing estate managements.

- ‘Continuous Water Monitoring System’ should be established in drinking water treatment plants and networks to monitor the changes in water quality instantaneously. 

- Water quality monitoring data carried out by both Local Authorities and the Ministry of Health should be transparently shared with the public. 

- Provincial and district municipalities other than metropolitan municipalities have difficulties in water quality management in terms of both financial and trained manpower. These municipalities should be supported in water management.

If we return to our tap water after these suggestions, we think that some studies should be carried out on the increase in the acceptance of water flowing from fountains as water for use only. 

Tap water quality and our source waters 

The quality of our tap water is checked by examining the samples taken from hundreds or even thousands of points along the network lines every day in physical, chemical and biological terms in laboratories. These controls are carried out by local administrations and provincial and district health directorates of the Ministry of Health. 

In all provinces and districts of Turkey, the conformity of municipal water to the specifications in the ‘Regulation on Water Intended for Human Consumption’ is constantly monitored. There may be problems in the water distribution system from time to time. At such times, pollution may occur in the water. Municipalities quickly intervene and inform the public about the issue. 

For this reason, the reason why our tap water is not preferred as drinking water is that it is not suitable for taste rather than quality and sufficient trust cannot be established.

In this context, it is necessary to increase the quality of tap water to be used more as drinking water and to keep it away from the risks that will deteriorate the water quality until it reaches the taps. In addition, information and confidence building activities should be carried out to eliminate the lack of trust that prevents the use of tap water as drinking water and to overcome the psychological threshold. 

16.5 per cent of tap water is drawn from springs 

According to TUIK data, 43% of the 6.7 billion m3 of water withdrawn as drinking and utility water in 2023 was provided from dams, 29.1% from wells, 16.5% from springs, 7.7% from rivers and 3.7% from lakes.

The waters drawn from dams, lakes and rivers are generally treated in treatment plants and supplied to the network. Spring waters, on the other hand, were supplied to the city only by being chlorinated without being subjected to any treatment in the plant until before the earthquake, as it was done in Malatya.

As a result of carrying out works to eliminate the chlorine odour in these spring waters, ensuring that the distribution networks and building installations are robust and the building tanks are clean, it will be possible to have spring waters suitable for our taste flowing from the fountains. 

Loss and leakage in networks and quality 

Reducing the loss and leakage rates, which are around 40% on average in our drinking water networks, will provide great benefits in terms of both water quantity and water supply economy. 

Renewal of water network lines is also very important in terms of preserving the quality of the water coming out of the treatment plant and reaching the entrances of the dwellings. For this reason, renewal of the networks is important and prioritised. In addition, real-time monitoring of water quality in water distribution lines enables rapid intervention to problems in water quality. Thus, any contamination of water from outside is instantly recognised by real-time monitoring and rapid intervention ensures that healthy water flows from the taps.

In order to prevent any bacteriological development in tap water, there is active chlorine at a rate of 0.2-0.5 milligrams per litre. Active chlorine prevents harmful bacteria but leaves an odour in the water. With advanced technological measures, this problem can be minimised, albeit at a high cost. The project of increasing the quality of tap water in accordance with the taste of the palate by using the developing technological possibilities should be implemented as a pilot project in a suitable region by local administrations. According to the results to be obtained from this project, efforts to use our tap water more as drinking water should be expanded. 

While determining the price of our tap water for subscribers, many of our municipalities do not apply the full cost principle due to social policy and subsidise the water by giving it cheaper than its cost. It is also important that the water brought to the fountains with such large investments and operating costs increasing day by day is also used as drinking water in order to increase the feasibility of the investment and operation. In summary; firstly, the rate of use of our tap water as drinking water should be determined, the reasons for non-use should be determined, and then a pilot project should be carried out in a suitable region and studies should be started to reduce this problem.