Water quality assessment and pollution of Akarçay River, Türkiye

Abstract

River water is a vital source of agricultural activities and ecology in the Akarçay basin. This study aims to determine the water quality of the Akarçay River. According to this purpose, 12 water samples that were thought to be affected by different polluting sources were taken through the flow path of the river and physicochemical analyses were performed. The water quality index (WQI) was used for drinking purposes, and the analysis results were compared with World Health Organization and Turkish drinking water standards. Irrigation quality parameters like sodium absorption ratio, residual sodium carbonate, and magnesium hazard were also calculated, showing that most samples are unsuitable for irrigation. The river water is of the Ca–Mg–HCO3, Na–Cl and Na–HCO3 types. It has been determined that the river water is unsuitable for irrigation and drinking water due to its high EC, Na+, Cl−, SO42−, As, B, F−, Fe, and Mn content. According to the WQI results, river water has different classifications from excellent to unsuitable. Geothermal water mixture and industrial, domestic and agricultural activities are the primary pollution sources. At the same time, the evaporation that the river is exposed to indicates the solute concentration and changes the usage characteristics.