Today ( 15th March 2010), because of  a newspaper headline entitled “ Köprü Dam sank deeply into sewage”, the Nicosia Turkish Municipality had to make a declaration to inform the public correctly about the claims concerning the sewage water accumulation at the Köprü Dam and around, supposedly caused by the emptying of the waste water of the Haspolat Treatment Plant without any treatment straight into the creek.

Responsible for the Haspolat Treatment Plant, Deputy Town Clerk Nevzat Öznel, gave the following information related to the subject:

“The treatment operations that are being done for years at the Haspolat Treatment Plant, don’t have any adverse effects on the environment. The related news which claim that flood water and the water that came from the treatment plant blended and polluted the Köprü Dam and its environment are not true.

In order to inform the public correctly, we would like to talk about  the treatment in brief. The water which comes to the plants firstly passes through the raster that decomposes solid waste. Secondly, water that passes from the anaerobic ponds go to the respiration ponds.

Later, it goes to the mellow ponds and finally it goes to the resting ponds. The procedure lasts for 50 days and it is directed to the stream. After these procedures the water which is directed to the stream has no negative effect on health and environment. Haspolat Treatment Plant has no negative effects whatsoever on health and environment and it is not causing any environmental disaster as it is mentioned and claimed in the article because the water coming out from the plant has no negative effects.

Moreover, unrefined water is flowing to the Kanlıdere (Pedeios River) without the control of the Municipality. For example, the water of the sewage trucks which pour out to Dikmen Garbage is directed to Kanlıdere. The sewage water which is unrefined from the Haspolat Industry Area is directed to Kanlıdere. Besides these, some institutions and private entrepreneurs are directing their unrefined sewage truck water to Kanlıdere. Because of all these reasons Kanlıdere is becoming dirty. It’s a duty for me to warn the mentioned newspaper that make distorted news about the Haspolat Treatment Plant where solid wastes of residential areas in Nicosia and its environment have been treated. I suggest that newspapers make news objectively by taking the related parties’ opinion in order to give true information to the public from now on.’’