Investigation of the mud resources in the İstanbul Golden Horn and evaluation of the performance of the existing mud disposal facility

A Haliç, literally means the bay where the river ends. The Golden Horn in İstanbul ,Türkiye, has been called by many different names in different periods. The main reason,for the allocation of "Golden Horn" name is because because of its horn-like shape. With its regional structure, the Golden Horn has a fertile soil and a very important location. Due to the location of the Golden Horn, a concentrated industrialization has occurred around it and unplanned urbanization has been experienced very intensely. This heavy industrialization caused the Golden Horn to be polluted over time and consequently releasing intense odors. Therefore, it has become a region with major environmental problems. With the intensification of industrialization, industrial wastes and wastewater from houses were given directly to the Golden Horn. Over time, the mud accumulated in the Golden Horn region causing spread of unpleasant odors around. These smells disturbed the people of Istanbul and especially the people living in golf neighborhood. Many studies have been carried out trying to resolve the problem of Golden Horn pollution. It has been determined that a lot of sediment and mud were carried to the Golden Horn from the Kâğıthane and Alibeyköy creeks flowing into the Golden Horn before and after industrialization . The Golden Horn is sometimes preferred for water sports. There are many water sports such as canoe, rowing and dragon boat race happening in the golf. Since the Golden Horn is a very preferred region due to its location and structure, it is of great importance to clean it. However, in order to do this cleaning, it is necessary to use the right techniques. Disposal and transportation after removal, as well as cleaning the mud and sediment accumulated at the bottom of the estuary, has a very important place. It needs to be transported to the casting sites . Pouring the sludge, which has a watery structure, into the casting areas also brings along new problems such as odor, transportation cost, and destruction of the foundry structure. Consequently, removing the sludge from water in a dry way creates more efficient cleaning strategies. It means, the sludge accumulated at the bottom of the Golden Horn must be removed and dried. Therefore, a dredge and a facility for drying the extracted sludge should be planned. In this study, the sludge accumulated at the bottom of the Golden Horn will be removed with a dredge, dried in the sludge disposal facility and the disposal will be evaluated. Efficiency will be determined as a result of this evaluation.As a result of the evaluation, it was observed that mud flow and its density were more in the mouths connected to the Golden Horn from the streams. It is necessary to take some preventive measures for these stream mouths.