Following the Syria crisis, Hatay population increased by 30% in a short period of time which exacerbated already existing strains on municipal service capacities to respond to the increase in demand. This has been particularly noticeable with respect to solid waste and waste water management, which led to increased health and environmental risks, if left untreated. UNDP Turkey works closely with Hatay and other municipalities to address those challenges through infrastructure investments and technical support.  UNDP was one of the first actor to respond to municipal service related challenges and is the only UN agency providing direct support to municipalities in terms of solid waste and wastewater management; benefitting over 307,000 Syrian and Turkish nationals in host communities with access to quality services. The new construction process of the Hassa Waste Water Treatment Plant kick started in April 2019, is one of the examples of a series of municipal investments realized by the UNDP Turkey and funded by the EU.

According to recent data, around 30% of the population in Hatay province are Syrians under Temporary Protection, who have fled the tragedy in their home country and took shelter in the bordering Hatay. The sudden and significant increase in population have worsened the existing challenges and have led to even higher levels of underserved communities, risking further deterioration of social cohesion as well as significant health and environmental risks as a result of poorly managed waste and waste water.

On the other hand, recently released metropolitan municipality regulations have also expanded metropolitan municipalities responsibilities to cover district and village level firefighting services, which has added new pressure to the demand side. Municipalities in the Southern provinces have indicated a significant increase in terms of the demand for municipal services, particularly in urban settings.

April 2019 marked another important milestone of the Municipal Services Delivery Component of the European Union (EU) funded “Turkey Resilience Project in Response to the Syria Crisis (TRP). The construction of a waste water treatment plant in Hassa was kicked off, which will process 4,000 cubic meters of wastewater in a day. The facility will ultimately serve to the population residing in Amik plains; both local communities and Syrian population, and is expected to contribute in eliminating waste water related challenges, health risks and pollution in the district.

The ribbon cutting ceremony, was held in Hassa district of Hatay on April 11^th 2019, on the occasion of the sod-turning for the construction of Hassa waste water treatment plant, as an important mile-stone of the EU funded “Turkey Resilience Project in Response to the Syria Crisis (TRP)  - Municipal Service Delivery Component. Hassa Wastewater Treatment Plant is being constructed in cooperation with Hatay Metropolitan Municipality andILBANK, under Turkey Resilience Project in Response to the Syria Crisis (TRP), which is implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and financed by the European Union (EU).

The ceremony for Hassa Wastewater Treatment Plant construction, which will be the 5^th waste water treatment facility for Amik Plains, was honoured by Assoc. Prof.Dr. Lütfü Savaş, Hatay Metropolitan Mayor; Mehmet Çaparali, Director-General of HATSU; Sukhrob Khojimatov, UNDP Turkey Assistant Country Director; Haydar Ergüneş, District Chair of Republican People’s Party (CHP); Hüsna Karayazgan, Deputy Director-General of HATSU, department heads from the Hatay Metropolitan Municipality, representatives of local civil society, business world, many citizens from Hatay and its neighbours.

Waste water treatment plant in Hatay is a good example of close cooperation between the Hatay Metropolitan Municipality, ILBANK, EU and UNDP, with overall budget around 3,3 million USD. The facility will have a capacity of 4000 m3 at the first stage and it is expected to serve a provincial population of 60.000 people in Hassa district of Hatay. The additional capacity to collect and process waste water, will reduce potential health and environmental risks, including ground water pollution. The use of this newly established waste water treatment plant is expected to improve municipal services.

“Wastewater which used to flow into the plains now returns to our dining table through food”

Noting that the plains had a population of approximately 500,000 and all wastewater from such population was discharged to ducts or streams, Assoc.Prof.Dr. Lütfü Savaş said: “The wastewater discharged were used as irrigation water in the spring, summer and fall. Our waste used to return to our dining tables through food grown in the plains. Sewer means problems, microbes, illnesses. Hatay is a city of history, culture and civilisation. Civilisation begins with infrastructure; we cannot talk of civilisation at a place without infrastructure.”

Plant to treat 4,000 cubic meters of wastewater a day

Providing technical information on the treatment plant, Director-General Mehmet Çaparali noted that Hassa Wastewater Treatment Plant was designed to treat 4,000 cubic meters of wastewater a day or 46 litres per second based on the principle of Extended Aeration Activated Sludge. Çaparali stressed that once the plant is commissioned, the treatment will be 90%, thus eliminating the pollution and odour problem at Tiyek Creek.

Treatment plants critical for hygiene and health

Sukhrob Khojimatov, UNDP Turkey Deputy Country Director, said: “We believe that it is so important that this great facility will be constructed here; responding to the need of the generous people of Hatay and Syrians under Temporary Protection living in the district. Turkey is showing great generosity in responding to the ongoing Syria crisis, and we as UNDP are honoured to be a part of the response. Employing 60 people, the plant will provide serious benefits of environment, hygiene and health once completed in September this year.” In his speech, Mr. Khojimatov extended gratitude to the EU, underlined the value of EU – UNDP cooperation in mitigating risks and flourishing opportunities in regions where affected by the ongoing Syria crisis.

Ninety six percent of Syrians in Turkey live mostly in urban areas of Southeast provinces and metropoles such as Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Bursa. One of the biggest impacts of the sudden population flux is on municipalities and public services. The population growth due to the Syrian crisis led to a major rise in demand for the services of local governments and municipalities including waste and wastewater management and firefighting services.

UNDP’s added value is to go beyond supporting municipalities with infrastructure and equipment but to leverage the support and introduce transformative changes in the management of municipal services. UNDP also supports technical capacities of municipalities to improve strategic planning, use of existing resources, and mobilization of external funding. This unique partnership with municipalities is crucial to strengthening their resilience and their ability to emerge stronger from the impact of the Syria crisis. Based on this successful EU supported project, UNDP is looking into scaling up its support on municipal services, in collaboration with EU and other partners- in Hatay and other municipalities.

The main objective of Municipal Service Delivery component of the Project is to strengthen the resilience of municipalities in those provinces most affected by the influx of the Syrians to be better able to cope with and recover from the impact of the large-scale displacement. UNDP uses a resilience-based development approach which focusses on investing in existing national and local systems to ensure they can adequately serve both host and Syrian communities.

Municipal service delivery component is the largest and most critical part of the Project in objectives, scope and budget, and gathers the largest number of team members working under the component. The municipal service delivery component partners with İlbank, the Turkish local development and investment bank.

It is expected that more than 307,000 Syrians and host community members to benefit improved municipal services Project.