If the dams dry up completely, the city could supply additional water by sea or by road – although no specific plans have yet been made for that disappointing possibility.
Istanbul’s problems have been exacerbated by its unprecedented growth.
30 years ago, when the city’s population was a little more than 50 lakh, there were approximately the same number of dams and water consumption was not a hot topic in the news.
Officials now regularly appear in the media to pressure Istanbulites to save water by any means necessary.
Aydın’s department sent a mass text message during particularly hot weather warning that the situation was becoming unstable.
“The storage volume of our dams in Istanbul is about 868 million cubic metres. But Istanbul’s annual consumption is 1.1 billion cubic metres,” Aydin told AFP.
“There is not enough water in Istanbul (dams) for the whole year. Istanbul is a city that needs constant rain. Our groundwater is not enough.”
Lack of rain is turning parts of empty dams into grasslands, where herds of sheep and goats roam on the outskirts of the city.
Pensioner Nejat Caracas grew up around water and likes to visit dams to pass time.
He leaned dejectedly on the edge of an overturned boat lying on a broken dry bed and contemplated climate change.
“It makes me sad. We’re not used to seeing it like this,” the 68-year-old man said. “If it doesn’t rain between now and October, bad days are ahead for Istanbul.”
