14.5.5. Watershed management strategy

METU has implemented a watershed management strategy for the Eymir–Mogan watershed, based on the aquatic species found there.

Strategy

Lakes Eymir and Mogan form a connected watershed along the Hatip stream south of Ankara. METU's Limnology Laboratory, with the Ankara Water and Sewerage Authority, began ecological monitoring of the watershed after Lake Eymir was heavily polluted by wastewater from Gölbaşı until 1997. A wastewater treatment facility was installed, and a biomanipulation programme – removing invasive fish species that degrade water quality – was used to restore the lake's native community.

METU contributes to the Mogan–Eymir Lake Sub-Basin Protection Action Plan, implemented with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's General Directorate of Water Management.

Species-based monitoring

The strategy is guided by EKOSAM's annual fish-diversity and submerged-plant surveys and fortnightly water-quality sampling in both lakes, which track the health of the watershed's native species.

The 1,010 km² watershed is about two-thirds farmland, mostly dry wheat, and is under growing urban pressure, yet the lakes are rich in wildlife: both lie within the Gölbaşı Special Environmental Protection Area, and Lake Mogan is an Important Bird Area. Long-term monitoring guided the restoration that followed the treatment of sewage from 1995, which cut phosphorus inputs by 88%, and the programme's stated aims are to detect and prevent threats to the lakes and their services, understand the effects of climate change and strengthen adaptation, and protect the lakes' biodiversity.