Investigation of Water Quality of the Karasu River in Bilecik Province in terms of Agricultural Irrigation

Abstract

Together with increasing people's need for water, water needs to be monitored due to the pressure created by factors such as drought and pollution. In this study, water quality was monitored by determining 10 points on the Karasu River in Bilecik Province and it was aimed to examine the seasonal change in water quality. pH, EC, Na, K, Ca, Mg, CO3, HCO3, Cl, B, SO4, Sodium Adsorption Rate (SAR), Residual Sodium Carbonate (RSC) and %Na parameters were determined in water. And then using these parameters, quality classes were determined with the help of water quality classification systems developed by scientists such as Schofield, Wilcox, Thorne, Doneen and Soifer. The study were temporally diveded into 4 periods. They are period 1, period 2 (Spring), period 3 (Summer) and period 4 (Fall). After all, for the period 3, heavy metal pollution, especially Al, attracts attention. Except for the period 2 of point 7 and period 4 of point 9, the class of all periods and points in terms of sulphate was "Very good (class 1)". According to Schofield (1933 and 1935) systems, point 7 is in particularly bad situation in terms of EC. According to Wilcox (1948), point 7 is not suitable for irrigation in the period 2. At point 7, water pollution in period 2 has been identified as common to most classification systems. According to Christiansen et al. (1977), there is intense pollution in terms of EC and Na2CO3 parameters. According to Soifer (1987), point 2 is the cleanest point. As a result, Karasu river is not suitable for irrigation in terms of Al and B. It was understood that heavy metal pollution did not cause much of a problem in non-industrialized cities such as Bilecik. Besides, it was understood that the most common element among heavy metals was Pb in Karasu River. The SAR and RSC values of all periods, seasons and points were classified as "Very Good-Safe (C1S1)".