Assessment of Mert River basin according to surface water quality parameters in context of integrated watershed management

The 2nd International UNIDOKAP Black Sea Symposium on BIODIVERSITY, Samsun, Türkiye, 28 - 30 Kasım 2018, cilt.1, ss.310-315

The conservation of the quantity and quality of top water resources, the utilization of these resources, and

their transfer to future generations (sustainability) is only possible with effective water management. At this

point, the integrated watershed management issue has gained great importance, and although work is being

done in our country, the shortcomings of water management are still continuing.

In recent years, pollution from water resources has required a certain quality and effective monitoring of the

quality of water resources. The most important and first thing to do in order to determine the pollution

factors, to estimate the dimensions of the pollution, and take precautions is to monitor the pollutants in

terms of water. In this context, the role of monitoring in the development, implementation, and evaluation

of watershed management policies is very important. This study aims to evaluate the water quality

of the Mert River basin passing through Samsun province center to the Black Sea according to surface water

quality parameters.

The Sulfate (SO4-2), Total nitrogen (TN), Total phosphorus (TP), Total dissolved solids (TDS), Chemical

oxygen demand (COD), Biological oxygen demand (BOD), Total organic carbon (TOC), Cd, Cr, Pb, Cu,

Ni and Zn parameters from the pollution measurements made in 1997, 2000, 2003, and 2011 within the Mert

River Basin area It was calculated.

The mean values of some of the measured parameters are 1.91 mg/L TN, 0.92 mg/L TP, 33.42 mg/L BOD

and 125.2 mg/L COD. The obtained results were evaluated according to the water pollution control

regulation(WPCR) and the quality criteria according to the classifications of the inland water resources.

Keywords: Basin management, Mert River Basin, Water quality.