PROMORIVER
Site description
Porsuk River (ancient Frig: Tymbris) is a river running through the Central Anatolia Region in Turkey. Formed by joining with the Bayatçık Gulley running down the northern slope of the Aksu Mountain and Kızıltaş Water running down the northern slope of the Murat Mountain. Within the region, the Porsuk River is the longest branch of the Sakarya River (448 km). The river is dammed by the Porsuk I dam, put into service in 1948, in the Kütahya Valley and located southwest of Eskişehir. It is also dammed by the Porsuk II dam put into service in 1971. The Porsuk river flows through Eskişehir Valley and the borders of Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality (population 650 thousand) and joins the Sakarya River opposite Yassıhöyük. The Sakarya River also flows into the Black Sea. Flowing for almost 460 km until it comes to the Sakarya river, the Porsuk river is used to provide irrigation and industrial water, as the receiving environment for domestic and industrial waste, as well as for recreation and fishing. Having been in a bad condition in terms of appearance, the Porsuk river was contaminated with waste generated by industrial enterprises, agricultural materials and domestic waste in the city centre. Furthermore, the floods that occurred every year resulted in material damages.
Existing problems
The Porsuk river is a river in which the people of Eskişehir fished and learnt to swim until the 1960s. The Porsuk river then became an open sewerage and dumping site as a result of the industrial waste, domestic waste, illegal connections to the city sewerage and rain water lines. The Porsuk river posed risks relating to soil liquefaction in the foundations of buildings due to the water leakages throughout the city. Since several sections of the natural river bad had been filled for constructing parks by the previous administration of the municipality, it also posed the risk of flood for the city. This might result in the loss of life and property during the flooding period. The unpleasant smell, environmental health problems and visual pollution were dominant in the river at the beginning of 2000s. It was reported to be the most polluted water in Europe by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 2012. According to the reports of the OSCE, it is a river in which no living creatures other than bacteria have lived for 25 years. The inevitable necessity emerged to determine and model the water potential in the Porsuk basin, creating a well balanced distribution of the water sources along a wide range of purposes, managing the basin of water by looking after the rights and benefits of the users as well as respecting sustainable environmental and developmental approaches. To that end, the project application together with the survey and studies carried out by the Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality has for 2 years received a grant from the European Investment Bank.
Objectives
● Remove the risk of natural disasters caused by the Porsuk river
● Make the Porsuk river give an aesthetic look to the city and ensure that it enriches the city
● Ensure that natural life becomes possible again in the Porsuk river,
● Use the Porsuk river for recreational and sporting activities
● Use the Porsuk river for transportation
An example of rehabilitation of the Porsuk River in Eskişehir City Center, Turkey
Case study description
The Porsuk River Basin forms an inferior basin of the Sakarya River and flows through Kütahya and Eskişehir and then into the Sakarya. The Porsuk River is used for meeting the agricultural, domestic and industrial needs. Although Porsuk's water potential is used more efficiently by the implementation of some water structures over time, nowadays the water pollution problems have become important. This situation leads to some problems between the water users and the water authorities. As the water is needed in other river basins, it shows that the water in the Porsuk Basin should be managed by basin management conception. This study states the requirements that have been done, that are being done and that are to be done to fill these needs for the Porsuk Basin and the change of identity by Eskişehir by giving examples.
Implementation
The construction project intended to control the water level was carried out by the Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality to minimise the damages caused by the natural disasters in the section where the Porsuk river flows within the city centre. According to this project, a section of approximately 8 km in length of Porsuk River’s channel has been developed and rehabilitated. Four water level control structures which increase the water level in the channel and connect them with each other have been constructed. The rehabilitation of the 4 water level control structures, 3408 m of the left bank and 5100 m of the right bank of the coastal irrigation channels has been completed.
1- The municipality demolished several sections of the generation points around the Porsuk according to a plan and restructured another section in a manner that did not damage the gulley.
2- The shanty settlements around the gulley have been removed and this area has been landscaped as a green field without closing the gulley.
3- The boats are in service for a distance of 10 km in the Porsuk River. Considering the water levels, ports have been built near the river. Thanks to the water elevators used as a pool with hydraulic covers, the road/way has been opened. By entering specific pools, the boats can follow their routes by ascending to higher water levels. The boats pass through the pools at particular points along their return. The pools discharge the water and the boat follows its route by descending to a lower water level. This system has been implemented in Turkey for the first time in Eskişehir. At the beginning, the boats were intended for travel tours. Since the middle of July 2009, boats have begun to cruise within the city. The number of passengers was approximately 27.000 in total in 2005, increasing to 50.000 in 2007, 70.000 in 2008, reaching 140.000 in 2009 and exceeding 110.000 according to data of September 2010.
4- Within the scope of the project; 24 vehicle or pedestrian bridges located on the Porsuk River were demolished and made earthquake-resistant by constructing new bridges. The bridges which were detected not to be resistant to an earthquake of magnitude 6.5 have been renewed within the scope of the project and reinforcement works have been carried out on some bridges.
5- Canoe contests have been organised, during the summer, on the Porsuk River for 2 years following the rehabilitation works.
6- The contribution of the river on social and culture life has been increased by creating a large parking area alongside the Porsuk river.
7- In addition to the large scale arrangements to clean the Porsuk river and minimise the risk of natural disaster, the project also implemented actions for the Porsuk to me used for intra-city transportation, similar to developed cities around the world through which a river flows.
8- The ground has been stabilised by compressing with natural materials in order to prevent mossiness on the ground and the concrete has not been poured directly onto the ground.
9- The section of 8.5 km of the river’s irrigation channels extending to the city has been renewed and 2 Vehicle Bridges have been constructed on Yeşiltepe Irrigation Channel.
10- Eskişehir has gained 3 multi-purpose parks.
11- 3 islands have been built in the Porsuk river. One of these islands has been arranged as The Island of City Love.
12- The city has gained a green area of 1.445.074 m2.
Outcomes and success
Having been deemed as the most important problem of the city in 1999, Porsuk has now become Eskişehir's most important asset since 2010.
Several cities such as Antalya, Alanya and Sivas have request the project consultancy regarding the rehabilitation of Porsuk River. Authorities from Romania have also been in touch. Reputable credit institutions such as the World Back suggest Turkey as a successful example of union and DSİ directs the related countries’ committees to Eskişehir.
The “project considering Eskişehir as an example” will be applied on the Anderlecht Canal in Brussels by Mustafa Ulusoy, a Turkish politician, and Gaetan Van Goidsenhoven, Primary Vice-Major of Anderlecht Municipality who examined the Porsuk river project of Porsuk Stream by coming to Eskişehir from Brussels, the capital of European Union. The project was accepted after a vote at the Brussels Municipal Council. By accepting the Master Plan discussed in the meeting of the Municipal Council held on 27th March 2014, the Anderlecht Channel and surrounding areas in Brussels will be arranged just like the surrounding areas of the Porsuk in Eskişehir.
Future actions
At this point, a “Water Basin Management Unit” should be formed for each basin of the river. The legal arrangements should be prepared for this creation. Therefore, examples from around the world should be examined. The water is allocated by DSİ (General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works) as per the establishment law. While Water Management Units protect the natural life with an approach which is respectful to the rights of water users and the environment, making the water sources sustainable, these approaches should be suitable for the needs of modern life.
Lessons learnt
Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality has rehabilitated the section of 10 km, transforming the city section of the Porsuk River by combining its equity with the credit received from the European Investment Bank. While rehabilitating this area, Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality has also met the requirements to improve both the flood safety and the earthquake safety of the bridges and structures around the river as well as the needs for intra-river transportation and landscaping. The prevention of the leakage problems caused by the irrigation channels passing through the city was also included in this scope.
Eskişehir is a centre where the tourism becomes dense rapidly. All of the most important elements which make the city a tourist attraction centre are all closely related to the Porsuk. The Porsuk has already repaid all of the labour put in by Eskişehir. What makes the citizens so proud is that the Porsuk Project is a live model for other cities where river flow through.
Project statistics
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Location: Eskişehir, Turkey
References:
1-Eskişehir Büyükşehir Belediyesi http://www.eskisehir-bld.gov.tr/
2-TMMOB Su Politikaları Kongresi PORSUK HAVZASI SU YÖNETİMİ VE ESKİŞEHİRÖRNEĞİ Prof. Dr Yılmaz Büyükerşen, Dr. S. Saim Efelerli
3- http://www.eskisehir-bld.gov.tr/haber_dvm.php?resim_id=348015