”The Yaylak Plain Irrigation Project is one of the major water and soil resources development projects being carried out in the world today.” It is included within the scope of the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP) and covers the construction of irrigation facilities with modern controls for an area of 18.322 hectares in total, in 36 villages and two towns on the Yaylak Plain, which is located close to the Atatürk Dam in the Province of Şanlıurfa.

The project area, which comprises 6% of the GAP area, passes through the fields of Şanlıurfa – Bozova – Atatürk Dam – Adıyaman State Motorways. The dimensions of the project cover an area of 60 km East to West and 25 km North to South.

The distribution of the irrigation water is realized through a total of 641 km long pipeline network with high pressure and mapsan controls. There are hydrants with a capacity of 7 lt/h, which serve an area of 4.665 hectares at each outlet of the network pipes. Ten Pumping Stations and Balance Depots were designed in a way to work parallel with the main canals in order to obtain the 31 m pressure required for sprinkling in the hydrants.

Irrigation of the Yaylak Plain, with water obtained from the reservoirs of the Atatürk Dam, is the aim of the project. The entire area of the plain is 49.753 hectares, and the portion suitable for irrigation was determined to be 25.863 hectares. Following studies conducted for this project, it was concluded that 18.322 hectares of the plain could be economically irrigated with the sprinkling system.