A debate over the provision of free water to consumers in Istanbul came to a conclusion on Thursday as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ordered new tariffs, allowing free or discounted water, up to a certain amount, for all provinces in the country. A presidential decree published in the Official Gazette requires the municipalities running water utilities to set an upper limit that will not exceed one-fifth of the monthly total usage per household for free or discounted water. Entitled "Human Right to Water," the new practice comes at a time the country faces a heightened danger of drought, which became more visible due to the ongoing climate crisis.

Free water was an election pledge of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu, who won elections in 2019 as the candidate of the Republican People's Party (CHP). Later, municipal assembly members from the CHP and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) had approved the free provision of water to consumers in the city of more than 15 million people in a rare display of unity on what they called a human right to water. Yet, the city's water utility, the Istanbul Water and Sewage Administration (ISKI), in October ended the practice, which granted an amount of free water to consumers monthly, varying from 1,000 liters to 3,000 liters, after the Court of Accounts, which oversees municipalities' activities, found it in violation of municipality laws. Meanwhile, the AK Party had claimed that though ISKI provided free water, it also applied "a hidden increase" in water fees, up to 20%. The municipality had pledged to reinstate the practice after legal amendments, but it faced criticism when it suggested a 57% rise in water prices on Wednesday. The proposal was shot down by the AK Party and its ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) in a vote on Wednesday and instead, a price rise of 20% was implemented.

Access to water for low-income households bears importance at a time when water resources are shrinking due to climate change and other factors. In 2010, the United Nations recognized the human right to water and sanitation and acknowledged that clean drinking water and sanitation are essential to the realization of all human rights. A U.N. resolution adopted back then calls upon countries and international organizations to provide financial resources, help capacity-building and technology transfer to developing countries in particular to provide safe, clean, accessible and affordable drinking water and sanitation for all.

In Turkey, the threat of drought was felt more last year when water levels dropped significantly in dams supplying water to cities. The government readied an action plan when faced with the prospect of imminent drought and aims to introduce measures to promote the more efficient use of water and decrease the amount of water being used from underground dams.

The latest figures released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) on Thursday show that municipalities extracted 6.5 billion cubic meters (230 billion cubic feet) of water from water resources for their water supply networks last year and more than 40% of water resources were dams while the rest was extracted from wells, springs, rivers, lakes and the sea. Out of this amount, 3.9 billion cubic meters were treated in water treatment plants. The average amount of water extracted by municipalities to water supply networks is calculated as 228 liters (60 gallons) per capita per day. Concerning the three largest cities, the average amount of extracted water per capita per day was 190 liters for Istanbul, 246 liters for Ankara and 221 liters for Izmir.