Mucilage statement from the Minister Institution: “There is no mucilage at the moment, but the danger is not over”

The Marmara Sea Action Plan Science and Technical Committee, working on the mucilage problem in the Marmara Sea, convened in Ankara. 21 scientists and the Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum attended the meeting.

Minister Kurum, in his speech at the meeting, stated that there is currently no mucilage problem in the Sea of ​​Marmara, but that the problem may reoccur. He said that they consulted on suggestions, ideas and opinions on the solution of the mucilage problem and determined new steps to be taken within this framework.

Minister Kurum continued his speech as follows:

“There is currently no mucilage in our seas. However, this does not mean that the mucilage will not recur. No mucilage was found in our sea in the evaluations we received today, in the measurements we made in the field, and in the analyzes. But of course, we have to finish this effective work by revealing permanent solutions so that we no longer face any risk of mucilage.”

in July tests are being completed

According to the Ministerial Institution’s statement, two methods, biotechnological and mechanical, are being tested for the disposal of mucilage.Tests on the whole field will be completed in July and the process will be carried out according to the result to be obtained.

Existing water treatment plants will be converted to advanced biological treatment plants

Explaining the decisions taken within the framework of the calendar and work program determined in the Marmara Sea strategic plan, the Institution said:

“According to the 2022 winter results of the MARMOD Project, the Marmara Sea Nitrogen and phosphorus are currently being supplied to and oxygen is decreasing. We are working on reducing the nitrogen and phosphorus load reaching the sea and increasing oxygen in line with the opinions, ideas and suggestions of our scientific committee. For this, we had a 3-year plan for the immediate conversion of existing wastewater treatment plants to advanced biological treatment plants. We are taking our steps within the framework of this plan and I hope we will implement a very important regulation in our Assembly in order to speed up this process. In this context, our municipalities will also accelerate their investments in order to make the process go faster, with models such as ‘build, operate, transfer’, ‘build and rent’ outside the budget.”

A three-dimensional digital twin of the Marmara Sea is being created

Saying, “We started to create a digital twin of our three-dimensional Marmara Sea,” the Institution said that they are carrying out this project with METU MARMOD.

The Institution said, “When our project is completed in a short time, we will actually be able to perform all kinds of simulations with our digital twin. We will also increase the success level of the model with backward simulations. Again, we will continue to make samples with our June 2022 expedition. In understanding the long-term effects of mucilage on the deep water and sea floor, the digital twin will make a great contribution to us and our scientists, and we will accelerate the process of improving seawater quality even more.”