Muğla’s water and sewerage utility MUSKİ has finished building a sewer network and wastewater treatment plant for Ören, a coastal town in the Milas district that until now relied on septic tanks, and residents can apply for connections from Monday, Oct. 19, the utility said on Oct. 14.
The project includes 43 kilometres of sewer lines and a treatment plant with capacity of 4,000 cubic metres a day, at a combined cost of about 348 million lira. The system is designed to serve a population of 25,000.
How to connect
Residents can apply at MUSKİ’s Ören subscriber office or at any of its subscriber offices across Muğla’s 13 districts. The utility stressed that it has not authorised any person or company to handle connections on its behalf and warned residents not to deal with anyone who asks for payment in its name.
For homeowners, including the many foreigners and city dwellers who own holiday flats or villas in Ören, connecting to the main network generally means arranging the link from the property to the street line and closing off the old septic tank, which then no longer needs to be emptied by tanker trucks.
Why it matters for Ören
Ören, on the Gulf of Gökova about 50 kilometres from Milas town, is a quiet resort with a long sandy beach, the remains of the ancient city of Keramos and a large stock of summer homes. Its population rises sharply in summer, putting pressure on infrastructure built for a much smaller year-round community.
Septic tanks in coastal towns are a frequent source of complaints in Türkiye’s Aegean resorts, with overflowing tanks and leaks blamed for odours and for contamination of groundwater and the sea. The Gulf of Gökova includes specially protected areas known for their marine life, making wastewater treatment particularly important.
MUSKİ General Manager Yılmaz Şengül said the sewer and treatment works in Ören were complete and that investment would continue across all 13 districts of the province. He said the aim was to make infrastructure services healthier and more efficient, to protect the environment and to improve service for residents.
A wider programme
Muğla, home to Bodrum, Fethiye, Marmaris and Datça, has spent heavily on water and sewerage infrastructure in recent years as rapid construction of holiday housing has outpaced networks in many coastal neighbourhoods. The works are carried out by MUSKİ under Muğla Metropolitan Municipality, led by Mayor Ahmet Aras.
Residents who need help with applications can contact MUSKİ subscriber offices directly. Those buying property in coastal parts of Muğla are often advised to check whether a home is connected to mains sewerage or still uses a septic tank, as this affects running costs and, in some areas, future connection fees.
Sources
Photo: Memty / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
