Investigation of water quality of Düden river and determination of the seasonal variations of the pollution loads carried to the Mediterranean sea

ABSTRACT INVESTIGATION OF WATER QUALITY OF DUDEN RIVER AND DETERMINATION OF THE SEASONAL VARIATIONS OF THE POLLUTION LOADS CARRIED TO THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA Ayça ERDEM Advisor: Prof.Dr. Bülent TOPKAYA M.Sc. in Environmental Engineering May 2002, 116 Pages Sea water quality is very important for Turkey which has a high income from tourism. However the coastal zones of the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, are polluted by land based pollutants such as wastewater discharges and rivers. In order to mitigate and control the impact of pollution in tourism areas, wastewater treatment systems are used, but it is rather difficult to control the pollutants coming from drainage areas carried by rivers. Lara Region which is one of the most important touristic places in Antalya, has been faced an incentive urbanization especially in the last ten years. Incomplete infrastructure will be an important problem for the future of the region. In this study, the water quality and the seasonal pollutant loads of Düden River, flowing into Lara Region, has been examined. The resulting pollution loads showed that high amounts of plant nutrients, solids and coliforms are carried to the Bay. KEY WORDS: Antalya Bay, Pollution of the Mediterranean Sea, Düden River, Land- based pollutants, Pollution loads COMMITTEE: Prof.Dr. Bülent TOPKAYA (Advisor) Assoc.Prof.Dr. Ayşe MUHAMMETO?LU Assoc.Prof.Dr. Erol KESKİN