Irrigation Water Quality in Selected Water Bodies of East Mediterranean Basin of Turkey

Abstract

Turkey is a country that has available climate conditions and water sources utilizable for agriculture. Most surface waters in the country can be applicable for irrigation purposes. Electrical conductivity (EC) is a measure of the salinity of the irrigation water, while salinity can also be directly measured in ppm. High salinity water prevents the water supply of the plant roots due to the high osmotic pressure, in other words reduces the availability of irrigation water. Sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) is an indicator of the quality of the irrigation water that is a measure of the sodium amount relative to calcium and magnesium amounts. High SAR values in the irrigation water result in impermeability in the soil meanly infiltration problems following a decrease in the water supply by the crop. In this study, four selected surface waters from the East Mediterranean Basin were chosen to evaluate their availability for the purpose of irrigation. Since the East Mediterranean Basin is a productive land due to its climatic conditions, monitoring the quality of the irrigation water of the basin becomes crucial. The selected surface water bodies were analyzed at three-month intervals between 2015 and 2019. The salinity and alkalinity classes were found to be C2-S1 which corresponds to good irrigation water quality and can be used to irrigate all types of plants.