Evaluation of surface water quality in the Southern Marmara Agricultural Basin
Abstract
The Southern Marmara Agricultural Basin (SMAB) is a strategic region located in the northwest of Turkey, covering a significant portion of the Marmara Region. Rich in agriculture, industry, tourism, and water resources, this basin is one of the critical areas that must be protected and managed in line with Turkey's sustainable development goals. Due to its strategic importance, the basin is exposed to multiple diffuse pollution sources, which pose significant environmental challenges.Therefore, the protection and implementation of sustainable management strategies for the basin are of great importance. In this study, the current water quality was evaluated according to the Surface Water Quality Regulation using samples taken from points where diffuse pollutant sources are dense in the basin. Additionally, correlation matrices were created to examine the relationships between water quality parameters. The study results revealed significantly high concentrations of total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) at the sampling points, indicating substantial nutrient loading. Moreover, the high correlation coefficients between pollutants increase the likelihood that pollution is reaching the receiving environment from non-point (diffuse) sources. These findings indicate that TN and TP loads significantly impact water quality in the SMAB.
Keywords
Southern Marmara Agricultural Basin, Surface Water Quality, Diffuse Pollutant, Basin-Based Water Management
Supporting Institution
This study was supported by the Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit of Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa. Project number: 37256
Project Number
This study was supported by the Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit of Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa. Project number: 37256
Ethical Statement
Peer-review
Externally peer-reviewed.
Declaration of Interests
The authors declare no conflict of interest. The paper is original unpublished work, and it is not under consideration for publication anywhere else. No data, text, or theories by others are presented, all relevant literature is cited.
Author contribution
Conceptualization, M.N.C. and H.K.Ö.; methodology, M.N.C. and H.K.Ö.; investigation, M.N.C. and H.K.Ö.; writing—original draft preparation, M.N.C. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Thanks
This study, a part of MSc Thesis entitled “Determınatıon and management suggestıons of dıffuse pollutıng sources ın the south marmara basin” which was conducted at Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, Institute of Graduate Studies.
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