Research on Bottom Sediment and Water Quality of Samsun-Mert Stream at the Discharge into the Black Sea

Authors: GÜLFEM BAKAN, BANU ŞENEL

Abstract: The aim of this study was to determine the sediment and the water quality of the Mert stream which has a high amount of discharge to the Black Sea from Samsun and also the determination of the environmental pollution parameter analysis at the surface sediment and water samples which were collected from near the discharge basin of the Mert Stream to the Black Sea. In this study surface sediment and water samples were collected from 10 different sampling stations along the discharge line of the Mert Stream. On the sediment samples, collected with a Bridge-Ekman grab sediment sample; water content, organic matter content and porosity percentages and pH analysis were performed. From these analyses, it was determined that the sediment layer in the Mert Stream has an average 57.55\% water content and 56.92 \% porosity. As the pH values of the sediment samples varied in the range of 6.80 to 7.65, its organic matter content with an average of 5.61 percent indicates that there was a domestic and agricultural pollution accumulation at the sediment layer of Mert Stream Furthermore on the water samples which were collected parallel to the sediment sampling stations in the same period, BOD$_5$, COD, TSS, TDS, T (^oC), pH, total-P, total kjeldahl-N, NH$_3$-N, NO$_2$-N, NO$_3$-N and organic N analysis were also performed. According to these analytical results, it can be concluded that Mert Stream has polluted water for BOD$_5$ and COD parameters at class 3 or even if very polluted class 4 water class. Moreover, according to the phosphate and nitrogen analysis of the water samples, Mert stream has class 2 or even class 3 water quality. Finally, according to the Environment Law-Water Pollution Control Legislation, Land-Based Water Quality Classification, generally, it has polluted water and the origin of this pollution is mainly domestic. The pollution load of the waterbody also appeared at the sediment layer, especially with its high organic matter content.

Keywords: Surface Sediment, Mert Stream, environmental Pollution, Wastewater.

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