Cleaning action by the TRNC Water Department - A proper step into the right direction

By Heidi Trautmann

During the last two month an earth moving activity aroused my curiosity and that of our neighbours living in Yesiltepe and further up in Ilgaz. Guesses were far reaching. One neighbour said,… you will see, they will build sky scrapers here in the ravine…., the other, a resident of old, said,…. you know, there used to be a lake here way back and the ducks settled here over winter…… Hmmm I thought, I need to find out what this activity was aiming at, and I went to talk to the responsible people at the Water Department in Nicosia, and the idea of a nice lake with ducks swimming on it and breeding never left my mind; it made me smile.

I had been given the directions by Bariş Bey at the Alsançak Municipality who said, that it was none of their activities, it lies within the responsibilities of the Governmental Water Department in Küçük Kaymaklı.

I spoke to the Director of the Department, Mr. Hasan Senin, assisted by his coordinator Mr. Ahmet Somezler and the ravine expert Mr. Turgay Hoşoz.

I was told that along the entire range of the Kyrenia mountains there are basins to hold the rain water back to feed the ground water. The ravine around the 2-3 m retaining dam has to be cleaned once in a while and that would be the actual case in Yesiltepe. Aha, I said, no new barrage lake? Would it not be a nice idea to save the rain water, I asked?

“You see”, the gentlemen said, “there will be big water riches coming in from Turkey as from 2014, the dams on both sides, in Turkey as well as in Gecitköy are being built right now.”

Yes, I know, I said, I was there and am impressed by the progress; will the water be just for farming purposes or will the inhabitants also benefit from this water?

“At the moment there are 500 km water pipes being laid across the island and the water is for the benefit of all the island, even for drinking water! So, you understand, we will not need any other measures to preserve water.”

I thanked the gentlemen for their time and information. On my way home, I went down the ravine in Yesiltepe, sometimes on all fours,  to take some pictures to share with you.

 Published in Cyprus Observer on 13 October 2012