Heavy rains benefited the dams: Istanbul's occupancy rate approached 60 percent

Heavy rainfall across Istanbul over the past two days lifted the city's reservoir storage, with average dam occupancy jumping 5.48 percentage points in a single day to 59.65% as of November 5, according to data from the city water utility İSKİ. Darlık, Ömerli and Alibey reservoirs each exceeded 70% capacity, while Kazandere and Pabuçdere remained notably low. The gain matters because Istanbul relies on these reservoirs for its municipal water supply, and the rapid single-day increase shows how quickly storage can recover during intense precipitation. Watchers will focus on whether the upward trend continues with further rainfall and whether the weaker dams, particularly Kazandere and Pabuçdere, close the gap with the rest of the system.