Ponds and Intended Purposes: Sivas Province (Turkey)

Water is a renewable natural resource. While it can be considered among the group of inexhaustible natural resources on a global scale, it is a finite resource regionally and locally. Ponds play a significant role in the control and management of water resources. Despite the known importance of ponds, global data sets describing their characteristics and geographical distribution are largely lacking. This study focuses on the ponds constructed by the General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works in Sivas province and their benefits. The districts where the completed ponds in Sivas province are located, their completion years, ponds volumes, and total irrigation areas are examined comparatively, and the results and necessary recommendations are presented. A total of 37 ponds were identified in Sivas, 36 of which are used for irrigation and 1 for animal drinking water. These include 25 clay-cored homogeneous fill ponds, 9 clay-cored rock fill ponds, 2 clay-cored sand-gravel fill ponds, and 1 concrete gravity fill pond. The ponds in Sivas generally share similar characteristics. It was found that Yıldızeli has the highest number of completed ponds, followed by the Central district. The western parts of Sivas are more suitable for pond construction due to natural, geographical, and topographical conditions. The number of constructed ponds is higher in the western parts of Sivas. Irrigated agriculture is more developed in these areas. Kömeviran has the smallest pond volume, while Üçöz has the largest pond volume. The total irrigation area of the 37 completed reservoirs in Sivas is 11.901 hectares. This total irrigation area covers a small percentage (0.417 percent) of Sivas province's total area. Therefore, new pond construction efforts are still ongoing in Sivas. In conclusion; it has been determined that the completed ponds in Sivas have largely achieved their purpose, and that even better results can be obtained through cooperation between farmers and the administration, the rehabilitation of existing irrigation systems, the widespread adoption of closed-circuit irrigation systems, and the transition to integrated water resource management.