Türkiye Grapples With 50% Surge in Drinking Water Costs

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – In a nation already grappling with a severe and unrelenting economic crisis, a dramatic and unprecedented surge in the price of drinking water has ignited a new wave of public concern and protest, adding the most essential of all human necessities to the ever-growing list of unaffordable goods for millions of Turkish citizens.

The price of bottled drinking water has skyrocketed by a staggering 50 percent over the past year, a rate that far outpaces wage increases and transforms what was once a stable and affordable commodity into a new source of financial strain.

This latest price hike, which has seen the cost of a standard 19-liter bottle of water in Istanbul soar to as high as 195 Turkish liras, has left citizens and small-scale water sellers alike expressing a mixture of anger, frustration, and a growing sense of desperation, with one resident poignantly capturing the cruel irony of the situation: "We are surrounded by water and we are without water."

For years, the price of water in Türkiye was one of the few constants in an increasingly volatile economy. It was a basic necessity whose cost remained largely stable, providing a small measure of predictability for households struggling to cope with rampant inflation.

That stability has now been shattered, as the price of water has become the latest victim of the country's wave of relentless price hikes. The 50 percent increase over the last twelve months is a stark and painful statistic for consumers.

To put the current prices in perspective, the cost of a 19-liter bottle of water, which now ranges between 135 and 195 Turkish liras in the country's economic hub of Istanbul, stood at a mere 12 liras just five years ago.

This exponential increase represents a new and significant burden on household budgets that are already stretched to their breaking point.

The public outcry against this sudden and severe price increase has been palpable, uniting both consumers and the small business owners who are on the front lines of the water distribution chain. A local water seller, speaking to Kurdistan24, expressed a sense of powerlessness in the face of what he described as the arbitrary actions of major corporations.

He explained that his own profit margins are minimal, and that the real beneficiaries of the price surge are the large, industrial-scale water companies.

"The big water companies raise the prices at their will," he said. "We only get paid for our labor, but the main profit is for the big companies." His statement points to a growing public perception that the crisis is being exploited by powerful corporate interests.

This sentiment is shared by ordinary citizens who are now forced to make difficult choices about their most basic needs.

"Water is a basic necessity of life and its price should not be so high," one citizen declared, articulating a widely held belief that such a fundamental resource should be protected from the harsh dynamics of the market. "The government must find a solution to this problem," he added, a direct appeal for state intervention to curb the soaring prices.

The health implications of this crisis are a source of profound concern. Another citizen highlighted the dangerous consequences of making clean, bottled water unaffordable for a large segment of the population.

He pointed to the geographical irony of a country with extensive coastlines and water resources facing such a dilemma.

While "we are surrounded by water," he noted, "due to the high price, many people cannot buy clean water from the market and resort to other sources, which poses a risk to their health."

This turn to alternative, potentially unsafe water sources, such as untreated tap water or unregulated local wells, could lead to a significant increase in waterborne illnesses and other public health problems, adding a new and dangerous dimension to the country's economic woes.

Analysts and observers point to a confluence of factors that are driving this dramatic increase in the price of water. The first and most direct cause is the rising cost of production.

The global surge in energy prices, which affects everything from the manufacturing of plastic bottles to the fuel needed for transportation and distribution, has had a direct and unavoidable impact on the final cost of the product.

The rising price of raw materials, particularly the petroleum-based plastics used for bottling, has also contributed significantly to the increased production costs.

The second and perhaps most powerful driver is Türkiye's persistent and punishing economic inflation.

The country has been suffering from one of the highest inflation rates in the world, a crisis that has eroded the purchasing power of ordinary citizens and led to a continuous upward spiral in the prices of nearly all goods and services.

The 50 percent increase in the price of water, while shocking, is in many ways a reflection of this broader economic reality, where the value of the Turkish lira has plummeted and the cost of doing business has soared.

However, beyond these macroeconomic factors, there is a strong and growing belief among the public that corporate policy is also a major contributing factor.

As the water seller and several citizens suggested, there is a widespread suspicion that the large water production companies have "exploited the economic crisis to raise prices and gain more profit."

In a market with high demand and limited competition among major brands, these companies are in a powerful position to set prices, and many believe they are doing so with little regard for the social consequences.

This new crisis over the cost of drinking water represents a significant and worrying escalation of the economic hardship facing the Turkish people. In recent years, the primary concern for most households has been the struggle to afford food, housing, and other essential goods.

Now, a new and even more fundamental worry has been added to this list. The concern of providing safe and clean drinking water, once taken for granted, has become "another burden on the shoulders of citizens in this difficult economic situation."

It is a crisis that strikes at the most basic level of human need, a daily reminder of the profound and far-reaching impact of Türkiye's ongoing economic turmoil.