The main purpose of this study was to determine the changes in the water quality of Melendiz and Karasu streams, which recharge the Mamasin dam, and to evaluate its environmental impacts on the dam site that provides ...The main purpose of this study was to determine the changes in the water quality of Melendiz and Karasu streams, which recharge the Mamasin dam, and to evaluate its environmental impacts on the dam site that provides drinking water and irrigation demand in Aksaray city in the Central Anatolia of Turkey. The field researches were focused on estimating the main sources of contamination, determining and evaluating the changes in the water quality due to the direct wastewater discharges into the Melendiz and Karasu rivers, which recharge the Mamasin dam sites. During the study, water samples were collected from Melendiz and Karasu stream and Mamasin dam, and then, the physical and chemical analyses of water samples were conducted. The relevant in-situ and laboratory analyses were carried out during the dry and wet seasons. The results of the analyses showed that in term of the surface water quality criteria in terms of NO3-N value of both rivers and dam waters, the water quality is always considered as the 1st class in Melendiz stream, the 2nd class in Karasu stream and the 3rd class in Mamasin dam lake. Whereas, in terms of NO4-N values of both rivers and dam waters, the water quality is always considered as the 1st class in Melendiz stream, the 2nd-3rd class in Karasu stream. The total organic carbon （TOC） range for Karasu river is usually from 20 mg/L to 40 mg/L. The high value of organic matter in the Karasu stream can be explained by the availability of intensive green wetlands around this water resource. Finally, the Ministry of Forest and Water Authority give some suggestions for estimating protection zones of Melendiz stream and Mamasin basin＇s area, such as using the results of environmental tracers to investigate the agricultural contamination, including more sophisticated applications of multiple-tracer analyses to evaluate the travel time of contaminants and estimate the boundary of protection zones.展开更多
文摘The main purpose of this study was to determine the changes in the water quality of Melendiz and Karasu streams, which recharge the Mamasin dam, and to evaluate its environmental impacts on the dam site that provides drinking water and irrigation demand in Aksaray city in the Central Anatolia of Turkey. The field researches were focused on estimating the main sources of contamination, determining and evaluating the changes in the water quality due to the direct wastewater discharges into the Melendiz and Karasu rivers, which recharge the Mamasin dam sites. During the study, water samples were collected from Melendiz and Karasu stream and Mamasin dam, and then, the physical and chemical analyses of water samples were conducted. The relevant in-situ and laboratory analyses were carried out during the dry and wet seasons. The results of the analyses showed that in term of the surface water quality criteria in terms of NO3-N value of both rivers and dam waters, the water quality is always considered as the 1st class in Melendiz stream, the 2nd class in Karasu stream and the 3rd class in Mamasin dam lake. Whereas, in terms of NO4-N values of both rivers and dam waters, the water quality is always considered as the 1st class in Melendiz stream, the 2nd-3rd class in Karasu stream. The total organic carbon （TOC） range for Karasu river is usually from 20 mg/L to 40 mg/L. The high value of organic matter in the Karasu stream can be explained by the availability of intensive green wetlands around this water resource. Finally, the Ministry of Forest and Water Authority give some suggestions for estimating protection zones of Melendiz stream and Mamasin basin＇s area, such as using the results of environmental tracers to investigate the agricultural contamination, including more sophisticated applications of multiple-tracer analyses to evaluate the travel time of contaminants and estimate the boundary of protection zones.
