WHILE Akbuk grapples with a lack of water, Didim residents have been asking why they have to pay such high rates for their water.

The truth about the water shortages in Akbuk seem to lie in the lack of preparation of the old regime at Akbuk council and politics playing a part.

Plans for water bore holes to be dug were seemingly abandoned due to Akbuk closing as a council, coming under Didim, and then the main decision making being taken by Aydin.

Effectively, nothing has been done to alleviate the water shortage in Akbuk, or no planning has been done to counteract the huge population it witnesses in the summer months.

While Voices still tries to get to the reason why water has been a rarer commodity than gold in Akbuk, another issue is raising its head: why does Didim pay such high water rates.

It has emerged that Didim pays 1TL per cubic metre of water, while Soke, just 20 minutes away, pays 37 kurus for a cubic metre of water.

Similar rates discovered in other areas under Aydin’s control range from 25 kurus in Germencik; 43 kurus in Nazilli; 22 kurus in Köşk

And it appears that the issues don’t end there as people in Kusadasi have been reporting back that their direct debits are being cancelled by the local council and new ones having to be created as Aydin is now overseeing the collection of payments for water as well.

So the three issues of Akbuk’s water shortage, Didim’s high price for water and now what could a new emerging problem of cancelled direct debits are high on the agenda for expats.