The 60-year-old wastewater problem in the heart of Istanbul has driven citizens to despair.

The wastewater pipe that passes through the gardens of the houses in the heart of Istanbul, Sarıyer, has caused residents to rebel. The neighborhood residents stated that they expect a solution from İSKİ and Sarıyer Municipality for a problem that has remained unresolved for 60 years.

Residents living on Şalcıkır Street in Tarabya, Sarıyer, reacted to Sarıyer Municipality and İSKİ due to the problems caused by the wastewater pipe that passes through their gardens. They reported that their plants, which they grow in their gardens, have been damaged due to the unresolved wastewater issue for 60 years, and they face bad odors and floods. They expressed their expectation for a quick solution from the authorities.

“In summer, it is impossible to endure the smell and mosquitoes.”
Tarabya Muhtar Mehmet Kadir Reisoğlu, who stated that they are trying to solve the problem, said, “We have a problem here that we have been unable to resolve for years. We have about 350 meters of wastewater flowing on the surface. It needs to be excavated, taken to the canal, and cleaned. Because there are families living there. In summer, it is impossible to endure the smell and mosquitoes. We insisted on this during Şükrü Bey’s term as well. They came and cleaned it, but they laid the pipe on the surface. 75 meters were laid, but it is not enough; the pipes laid were washed away in the first rain. Our correspondence regarding the solution is ongoing. This problem has been there for 60 years. My neighbors’ troubles are at their peak. The flowing waste threatens the Şalcıkır Stream over there. This is a metropolis; there is an infrastructure problem here. It should not remain like this. We will follow up on the issue.”

“It is becoming unbearable.”
Neighborhood resident İsmail Gökyıldız stated that the problem becomes unbearable, especially in the summer months: “In the summer, there is a terrible smell here; the toilets of the upper sites are all connected here, and a couple of times the authorities came and checked but could not do anything; they put two pipes and left. Right now, there is a disgraceful smell here already. Our houses just a little further are becoming unbearable because of this trouble. The stream passes through here. They connected it here but did not connect it to the canals; they just let it flow like this. They brought a few pipes, said they would fix it, and left. This has been flowing like this for at least 30 years. In winter, it overflows, everything becomes a mess, and the foul smell lingers here.”

“In summer, there is odor, and in winter, there are floods.”
Oğuzhan Gökyıldız, who stated that this problem has always existed, said, “As neighborhood residents, we have applied many times, but the municipality has not taken any action. Our current muhtar is dealing with it through İSKİ. This is an open sewer; there is a sight here that you wouldn’t even see in the neighborhoods that can be called slums in the heart of Tarabya, Istanbul. We want it to be closed as soon as possible because it passes through our gardens. Especially in the summer months, there are serious problems. There is odor in the summer, and floods in the winter. We want it to be rehabilitated, taken to the canal, and connected to the main line.”