site.btaDue to Drought, Bulgaria Refuses Additional Amount of Water to Turkiye

Environment and Water Minister Petar Dimitrov told BTA that Turkiye had asked for additional amounts of water down the Maritsa but Bulgaria declined the request because it has no regulated runoff on the river. The runoff situation in Bulgaria is extremely alarming due to climate change and persistent drought, he said. The cable was received from the Turkish Embassy in late July.

Dimitrov was given a hearing by the parliamentary Environment and Water Committee earlier in the day.

Acting on Turkiye's request, energy ministers Vladimir Malinov of Bulgaria and Alparslan Bayraktar discussed the possible provision of additional amounts of water for irrigation around Edirne to due to prolonged drought and adverse weather. Malinov said Sofia could host a bilateral meeting on the technical parameters, the Energy Ministry in Sofia said on Wednesday.

Asked if water was directed towards Greece, Dimitrov said that under a reparation agreement of 1964, Bulgaria was obligated to provide water from its facilities on the Arda, from three dams, between May and September for a period of 60 years. That agreement expired on this last July 9, he said. The national position is that the reparation agreement is financial in nature, and water is provided to Greece only through agreements between two companies - Dams and Cascades of Bulgaria's National Electricity Company (NEK) and the Greek energy company. At this stage, NEK has not asked for water quantities over and above those permitted for electricity production. This is a commercial contract strictly within the scope of the quantities set for electricity generation, Dimitrov said.

"Climate change is a fact and we need to address it," the Minister told the Environment and Water Committee. Drought is particularly pronounced in Northeastern and Eastern Bulgaria and in the Tundzha River Basin, he said. The committee discussed the serious impact of drought on agriculture.

Asked if he would accept the same portfolio in the next caretaker cabinet, Dimitrov answered in the affirmative.