In this report, Kalkan Turkish Local News brings you the very latest news, in words and images, on efforts to restore Kalkan's water supply.

Given the uncertainty and confusion on this important matter, we decided that the only way to find out what is really happening, was to visit the water pumping station at Saklıkent.

We took with us, qualified engineer, Bill Porter, who knows one end of a water pump from the other.

It's a 30km drive to the water pumping station at Saklıkent, and we turned up at Sunday lunchtime.  Half a dozen men were working in the pumping house, including workers from Kalkan and Kaş Belediye.

Coincidentally, arriving at the same time as us, was Kalkan Mayor, Saim Karakurt, who had come to check on progress.

We should perhaps begin by bringing some clarity as to how many existing pumps there are.  The photo below shows the old pumps.  In fact, to be precise, each unit you see comprises an electric motor and a pump.  (The one closest to the camera is disconnected, and not working).

There are 9 of them, of which 4 are pumping water.  We could hear them working, although their combined capacity is not enough to deliver a sustained supply to Kalkan.  We have heard that some people in Kalkan have a dribble of water, but most properties currently do not have a supply.

In addition to the 9 units plumbed in, and in situ, we noticed another 8 decommissioned pumps, (minus motors), lying on the floor.  This would suggest that the pumps, or some elements within the pumps, are worn out or damaged in some way, and have been replaced with new ones.

In addition to these 9, you may recall that 2 years ago, the Belediye ordered 2 new powerful pumps.  It turns out that for some reason, they have failed.  These are the ones that are being replaced.  You can see one of these failed units below.

The 4 old pumps that still work, will be retained for emergencies.  However, given that on their own they don't appear capable of delivering enough water, we are not sure what use they are, unless some of the non-working pumps can be stripped down and rebuilt, to give additional capacity.

We put this question to someone who works at the Belediye, and he assured us that the intention is to work on this.  It is something we will follow up with the Belediye, because it is in all our interests to have a good back up system.

These old units are in one section of the building.  The new, more powerful, orange units are in another section.  We saw these being assembled.  See photos below.

Below: Kalkan Mayor, Saim Karakurt, next to the replacement pumps.

What you can see are two units, with the electric motors being positioned on top of the actual pumps. 

Each unit can pump 120 litres of water per second, and the intention is normally to have one unit working and one resting, unless high demand requires both to be operating.  One of these new pumps is equivalent to five old pumps.

So, the question that many people in Kalkan are asking: when will we have water flowing from our taps again?

As we left the site, just after 3pm, the second motor was being fixed in place on top of the pump.  The next job was to connect the power supply, and set up the control panel, which will operate the units.

Bill, our engineer, suggested that this may take most of today.  Then water pressure has to be built up again in the system.

The Mayor told us "Yarın. İnşallah". (Tomorrow. God willing").  However it may be prudent to assume it will be Tuesday, before everyone is back to normal.

Of course, this assumes that after installing the new units, connecting the electricity, and hitting the 'On' switch, everything works as it should. 

We don't like to think of the scenario where there is a problem with the new units.  Let's be optimistic and assume they will do what they are supposed to do.

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