Oceanographic Investigations Related to a Sewerage Outfall in Mersin Bay

Authors: Ayşen YILMAZ, İlkay SALİHOĞLU, M. A. LATİF, Semal YEMENİCİOĞLU

Abstract: Oceanographic investigations were carried out for a sewerage outfall for the city of Mersin. The city, with a population of < 500.000 (1991-92) has planned to discharge municipal wastes via a \sim 1 km long outfall pipe at a rate of 2.5 m^3/sec into the nearshore region in the vicinity of Merisn harbour. The effluent will be discharged after it has been primarily treated. The system is operational at present. The currents in the region are strongly correlated with the prevailing winds, and are either westerly or easterly. The breakwaters of the harbour act to block the current; and generate a small eddy near the shore, with the possibility of trapping the effluent in the Bay. In addition, the physical and chemical properties of the region, including stratification and oxygen content were determined on a seasonal basis. Faecal coliform decay (T-90) was determied by Rhodamine-B dye tracing experiment. The loads of pollutants from land-based sources were estimated.

Keywords: Sewerage; Ocenographic investigation; Waste; Currents; Faecal coliform decay

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