Robert SPENDLINGWIMMER / Monika SCHÖNERKLEE-GRASSER
(Austrian Research Centers, Water Department, Austria)
Van city, seat of the eastern Anatolien Region Van, was site of the Kingdom of Urartu from about 850 to 600 B.C. Historical references and archaeological evidence indicate the Urartians were especially skilled water managers. The water supply for the capital city of Tuspa/Rusahinili (now Van) was based on an outstanding example of an inter-basin water-management-system.
That system remains in use today, more than 2,600 years later.
Prof. Dr. Ing. G. GARBRECHT, from the Leichtweiss Institute for hydraulic engineering in Braunschweig, has studied it closely. His studies together with the expertise of Van University members serve as the basis for a modernization plan by the Austrian Research Centers.
ARC is working in cooperation with local institutions and archaeologists to develop a modern water management master plan to save the endangered Van Lake. This plan, which includes all municipalities in the catchment area of Lake Van, calls for combining the best of the old and new systems for a water management plan that will revive the lake and keep it clean. This project outline shows how this combination of ancient and modern water management know-how will produce significantly improved efficiency. This is an EU-IPA project for the Region of Van in Turkey.