Science of the Total Environment 584585 (2017) 131144

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Science of the Total Environment

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Evaluation of water quality using water quality index (WQI) method and
GIS in Aksu River (SW-Turkey)
ehnaz ener a, Erhan ener b,, Ayen Davraz a
a
Sleyman Demirel University, Department of Geological Engineering, nr, TR-32260 Isparta, Turkey
b
Sleyman Demirel University, Remote Sensing Center, nr, TR-32260 Isparta, Turkey

H I G H L I G H T G R A P H I C A L A B S T R A C T

This study aims to evaluate water qual-

ity of the Aksu River.
The water quality for drinking purpose
was evaluated using water quality in-
dex (WQI) method.
The effect of pollutants is dominant on
to water quality in the region.
COD and Mg are the most effective wa-
ter quality parameters.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The aim of this study is evaluate water quality of the Aksu River, the main river recharging the Karacaren-1 Dam
Received 19 October 2016 Lake and owing approximately 145 km from Isparta province to Mediterranean. Due to plan for obtaining drink-
Received in revised form 13 January 2017 ing water from the Karacaren-1 Dam Lake for Antalya Province, this study has great importance. In this study,
Accepted 16 January 2017
physical and chemical analyses of water samples taken from 21 locations (in October 2011 and May 2012, two
Available online 29 January 2017
periods) through ow path of the river were investigated. The analysis results were compared with maximum
Editor: D. Barcelo permissible limit values recommended by World Health Organization and Turkish drinking water standards.
The water quality for drinking purpose was evaluated using the water quality index (WQI) method. The comput-
Keywords: ed WQI values are between 35.6133 and 337.5198 in the study. The prepared WQI map shows that Karacaren-1
Aksu River Dam Lake generally has good water quality. However, water quality is poor and very poor in the north and south
Drinking water of the river basin. The effects of punctual and diffuse pollutants dominate the water quality in these regions. Fur-
WQI thermore, the most effective water quality parameters are COD and Mg on the determination of WQI for the pres-
GIS ent study.
2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: sehnazsener@sdu.edu.tr (. ener), erhansener@sdu.edu.tr (E. ener), aysendavraz@sdu.edu.tr (A. Davraz).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.01.102
0048-9697/ 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
132 . ener et al. / Science of the Total Environment 584585 (2017) 131144
1. Introduction
The surface water quality is very sensitive and critical issue in many
countries. Also, with an increased understanding of the importance of
drinking water quality to public health and raw water quality to aquatic
life, there is a great need to assess surface water quality (Ouyang, 2005).
Anthropogenic inuences as well as natural processes degrade surface
waters and impair their use for drinking, industry, agriculture, recrea-
tion and other purposes (Carpenter et al., 1998; Jarvie et al., 1998;
Simeonov et al., 2003; Snchez et al., 2007; Kazi et al., 2009). So a
water quality monitoring program is necessary for the protection of
fresh water resources (Pesce and Wunderlin, 2000). The geochemical
study of river basins reveals the nature of the geochemical factors,
which helps us to understand the exogenic cycles of elements in the
continentriverocean system (Giridharan et al., 2010). The hydrogeo-
chemical properties of water are an important factor determining its use
for domestic, irrigation and industrial purposes. Interaction of water
with lithologic units through which it ows greatly controls the water
chemistry and quality (Subramani et al., 2009).
Several approaches have been introduced to assess the water chem-
istry and status of water quality in the river (Afsin, 1997; Subramani,
2005; Mller et al., 2007; Subramani et al., 2005; Shastry et al., 1972;
Aston et al., 1974; Lizcano et al., 1974; Nunes et al., 2003; Tsegaye et
al., 2006). Tsegaye et al. (2006) evaluated the impact of land use/land
cover changes, seasonal, and location on water quality of streams within
the Wheeler Lake Basin in northern Alabama. Yidana and Yidana (2010)
used conventional graphical methods with multivariate statistical
methods and GIS to study the controls on the hydrochemistry and the
severity of the controlling factors at different locations in the ow sys-
tem. Also, they used water quality index (WQI) method to assess the
suitability of groundwater from the study area for human consumption.
Kannel et al. (2007) used WQI to evaluate spatial and seasonal changes
in the water quality in the Bagmati river basin. Debels et al. (2005) cal-
culated WQI in order to characterize the spatial and temporal variability
of surface water quality in the basin, from nine physicochemical param-
eters, periodically measured at 18 sampling sites in the Chill'an River.
The use of a WQI was initially proposed by Horton (1965) and
Brown et al. (1970). Then, many different methods for the calculation
of WQI's have been developed by several authors (Debels et al., 2005;
Saeedi et al., 2009; Tsegaye et al., 2006). The WQI has been considered
as one criterion for surface water classications based on the use of
standard parameters for water characterization. It provides a compre-
hensive picture of the quality of water for most domestic uses. WQI is
a mathematical instrument used to transform large quantities of water
characterization data into a single number, which represents the
water quality level (Bordalo et al., 2006; Snchez et al., 2007).
Numerous water quality indices have been formulated all over the
world such as US National Sanitation Foundation Water Quality Index
(NSFWQI) (Brown et al., 1970), Canadian Council of Ministers of the Envi-
ronment Water Quality Index (CCMEWQI) (Khan et al., 2003), British
Columbia Water Quality Index (BCWQI), and Oregon Water Quality
Index (OWQI) (Debels et al., 2005; Kannel et al., 2007; Abbasi, 2002).
The most of these indices are based on the WQI developed by the U.S. Na-
tional Sanitation Foundation (NSF) in 1970 and it is commonly used in the
world (Brown et al., 1970). The NSF WQI was developed to provide a stan-
dardized method for comparing the water quality of various water
sources based upon nine water quality parameters, i.e., temperature, pH,
dissolved oxygen, turbidity, fecal coliform, biochemical oxygen demand,
total phosphates, nitrates and total solids. The water quality ranges have
been dened as excellent, good, medium, bad and very bad according to
NSF WQI method (Chaturvedi and Bassin, 2009).
The Aksu River has great importance for the region. It is the main
river that recharge to the Karacaren-1 Dam Lake. Furthermore, local
authority planned to taken water from Karacaren-1 Dam lake to supply
drinking and municipal water requirement for Antalya city. However,
there are important punctual and diffuse pollutants which are affected
river water quality. Domestic wastewaters of the settlements and agri-
cultural activities are the most important diffuse pollution sources. In
addition, leather industry, marble factories and sh farms are punctual
pollution sources in the study area. The puried wastewater of Isparta
Province treatment plant is discharged into the Aksu River in the
north part of the river basin. Even if wastewater treatment plant of
the Isparta Province is working full capacity, 60,000 m3/day of wastewa-
ter reaches the Aksu River. Occasional failures and operational faults can
be experienced at this wastewater treatment plant, causing pollutants
to enter the river. In addition, the Sav town wastewater is discharged
without treatment into the Aksu River in this region. Wastewater sam-
ples, which were taken from the discharge point into the Aksu River and
analysed in this study, and the Cl (10,477 ppm), Cr (20.218 ppm), P
(16.851 ppm) and SO4 (9691.79 ppm) were detected at high concentra-
tions. Additionally, there is an industrial leather wastewater treatment
plant in Isparta Province. From this facility, domestic and industrial
wastewater is discharged into the Aksu River at 8001200 m3/day.
A great number of sh farm situated on tributaries of the Aksu River
and Karacaren Dam are discharge into the Aksu River. The increases in
nitrate, nitrite, orto-phosphate and total phosphorus contents of the
river water were determined in a study on the effect of water quality
on sh farms in the tributaries of the Aksu River (Bulut et al., 2012).
The sh farms negatively affect the river water quality. In another
study, Cryptosporidium parvum (C. parvum) and Giardia intestinalis (G.
intestinalis) parasites were determined in water samples around the
Aksu River owing from Isparta Province centre to the Karacaren
Dam (Rad et al., 2007). C. parvum and G. intestinalis were determined
at 40% and 50%, respectively. In this region, there are settlement areas
where people are interested in agriculture and raising animals, renery
plants and garbage areas. Contamination sources of these parasites are
sewage treatment plant efuent, septic tank discharge, and infected
pets, farm and wild animals (Rad et al., 2007). In addition, agricultural
activity is intensive along the Aksu River. During these activities, fertil-
izers (synthetic and natural) and pesticides are used extensively to in-
crease product quality and quantity. Farmyard manure is used more
intensively than synthetic fertilizer. In addition, nitrogen (pure N),
phosphorous (P2O5) and potassium (K2O) are used in agricultural activ-
ities (Anonymous, 2015a, 2015b). The punctual and diffuse pollutants
are shown in Fig. 2. Currently, effects of these pollutants on water qual-
ity are not exactly known. Hence, this study is extremely important for
the region.
The main objectives of this study are (1) to determine geological and
hydrogeological properties of the river basin, (2) to assess the physico-
chemical properties of the river water and (3) to determine the water
quality of the Aksu River, depending on WQI and to create WQI map
based on GIS (4) to discuss the effects of the each water quality param-
eter on the WQI values.
2. Study area
The Aksu River basin is located in the Antalya Basin, southwest
Turkey, and the basin covers a total drainage area of approximately
3652 km2 (Fig. 1). The total length of the Aksu River is approximately
145 km, with headwaters Akda and is situated within Isparta Province
and discharges to Mediterranean from the Antalya-Aksu border. The
southern basin is narrower than the north. Two different climatic
types, a Mediterranean climate and continental climate, are observed
in the Aksu River basin. The north part of the basin has a Central Anatolia
continental climate condition with hot, dry summers and cold, snowy
winters. Most of the region usually has low precipitation throughout
the year. A Mediterranean climate, is observed in the south part of the
basin. The Mediterranean climate is characterized by dry summers
and mild, moist winters. The altitude of the basin ranges between
2835 m and 0 m above sea level. The northwest and northeast mountain
areas are highest areas, have lower temperatures, intense precipitation,
and snow, whereas the south plain areas are generally warmer with
 . ener et al. / Science of the Total Environment 584585 (2017) 131144
intense rainfall and evaporation. The average temperature of the basin is
14.4 C according to meteorological station measurements. Rainfall data
have been measured in Aksu meteorological station; annual average
rainfall is 862.74 mm based on 19 years of Aksu meteorological station
measurements. The maximum rainfall was 1235 mm in 1995. The aver-
age ow of the Aksu River is 94.98 hm3/year according to long-term
ow observations (Gne, 2014).
The Kovada Lake and Karacaren-1 Dam are important surface wa-
ters in the study area. Lake Kovada is located in Lake District of the
Turkey, situated in a Turkish National Park. The altitude of Kovada
Lake is approximately 903 m above sea level. The shallow lake is 6
7 m in depth, 9 km wide and 20.6 km long and covers an area of
8 km2. Lake Kovada is situated on allochthonous limestone and, ground-
water ow and rainfall are important recharge sources to the lake. The
Karacaren-1 Dam, located in the Middle Mediterranean basin was con-
structed for irrigation, ood prevention and energy production between
1977 and 1990. The plans for taking drinking and usage water from the
Karacaren-1 Dam Lake are questionable due to pollution of drinking
water sources and increased of demand. The Karacaren-1 Dam Lake
is recharged mainly by the Aksu River and precipitation.
3. Hydrogeological setting
The water chemistry and quality is related to both the lithology and
the residence time of the water in contact with rock material (Varol and
Davraz, 2014). Hence, hydrogeological properties of lithological units
were investigated and aquifer units were determined using previous
studies and eld investigations. Thus, a hydrogeological map of the
river basin was prepared using ArcGIS software based on characteristics
of the lithological units (Fig. 3).
Each lithological units observed in the basin has different
hydrogeologic properties. According to hydrogeological assessments,
Fig. 1. Location map.
133
the hydrogeology map of the river basin was prepared and lithologic
units were grouped as porous permeable aquifer, karstic limestone
aquifer, karstic travertine aquifer, semipermeable, slightly permeable,
impermeable ysch and impermeable ophiolitic mlange. Alluvium
was classied as porous permeable aquifer, limestone and travertine
units were classied as karstic limestone aquifer and karstic travertine
aquifer, respectively. Alluvium is the most important aquifer located in
the Isparta and Alasun plains and east of Antalya city. The unit is com-
posed of materials such as clay, silt, sand and gravel, unconformably
covering all other lithological units. The other important aquifer units
are Mesozoic carbonate units and travertine deposits in the study
area, Antalya nappes control the boundary of these aquifers (Elhatip,
1997). Limestone is located in the bottom of the alluvium in each
plain as indicated by well logs and eldwork. Highly karstied lime-
stones are observed in southern Turkey. The limestones were form a ne-
ritic and pelagic carbonate platform and are located in a wide area up to
the Antalya gulf from Isparta. The unit is approximately 25003000 m
thick and includes dolomitic limestone (Yalnkaya et al., 1986). Lime-
stones include many karstic features, such as sinkhole, cave, ponor
and karstic springs, formed because of widespread karstication and ac-
tive fracture systems (Davraz et al., 2009). In addition, the alluvium
aquifer is recharged with springs discharging from allochthonous lime-
stones and groundwater ow direction is towards the autochthonous
karstic limestones (Davraz et al., 2009). Travertine covers an area of
630 km2 on the Antalya plain. Travertine formed as two plateaus on
land. The elevation difference between these plateaus can reach to
100 m (Davraz et al., 2009). These travertines were formed from tufa,
which is calcium carbonate precipitated from cool-water springs as de-
scribed by Glover and Robertson (2003). The travertine units can be ob-
served around Antalya city.
While conglomerates were classied as semi permeable units due to
karstic cement, volcanic units have slightly permeable properties.
134 . ener et al. / Science of the Total Environment 584585 (2017) 131144

Fig. 2. The locations of the water samples and pollution sources.

Conglomerate is located around Stler, north of the study area. Volca-
nic units are composed of tuff, andesite and dacite. Tertiary aged ysch
units are composed of claystone, sandstone and conglomerate and lo-
cated over wide areas in the river basin. Sandstone-shale-mudstone
units and ysch were classied as impermeable ysch in the basin. In
addition metamorphic rocks and ophiolitic units are classied as imper-
meable ophiolitic mlange (Fig. 3).
The hydraulic conductivity of alluvium aquifer was between
8 10 4 and 3 10 2 m/s, and the hydraulic conductivity was
calculated as 2 10 5 m/s for the karstic travertine aquifer (UNDP,
1983). The hydraulic conductivity has an important effect on ground-
water movement and regional lithologic barriers control regional move-
ment of large volumes of groundwater from higher recharge areas
towards the plains. In the research area, according to the locations of lin-
eaments, the locations of both fracture planes and karstic canals devel-
oped throughout its intersections permit N-S trending groundwater
movement. The groundwater discharge to the karstic system is approx-
imately 915 m in the northern part of the research area and 750 m for
 . ener et al. / Science of the Total Environment 584585 (2017) 131144 135

Fig. 3. Hydrogeological map.

travertine in the southern part. The groundwater ow direction in the
limestones is from north to south according to the hydraulic conductiv-
ity of the research area (Davraz et al., 2009; UNDP, 1983).
4. Methodology
4.1. Station selection
Twenty-one sampling stations were carefully selected to represent
the main course and tributaries taking into consideration the criteria
for selecting the sampling stations given in the European Water Frame-
work Directive (European Communities, 2000). Water Framework Di-
rective (WFD 2000/60/EC) indicates that surveillance monitoring
should be carried out in sufcient surface water bodies to provide an as-
sessment of the overall surface water status within each catchment or
sub-catchments within the river basin district. Additionally, sampling
points should include major rivers as well as points at the downstream
end of relevant sub-catchments. The main criteria in selecting these bod-
ies are (1) the rate of water ow is signicant within the river basin dis-
trict as a whole; including points on large rivers where the catchment
136 . ener et al. / Science of the Total Environment 584585 (2017) 131144

Fig. 4. The spatial distribution of pH (A), SO4 (B), NO2 (C) and NO2 (D) in the river.

area is N2500 km2, (2) the volume of water present is signicant within
the river basin district, including large lakes and reservoirs, and (3) at
such other sites as are required to estimate the pollutant load which is
transferred into the marine environment (European Communities,
2000). In the present study, the selection of sampling stations was
performed based on these criteria and also the river typology criteria de-
termined by Ministry of Forestry and Water Management, Turkey. The
river typology criteria are ow type, drainage area, precipitation, slope, al-
titude and geology. Seven different typologies were identied for the
Aksu River and sampling sites represent each typology. Additionally,
 . ener et al. / Science of the Total Environment 584585 (2017) 131144 137

Fig. 5. The spatial distribution of COD (A), Mn (B), Pb (C) and Cr (D) in the river.

samples were collected especially from locations representing effects of
punctual and diffuse source pollutants to the river basin.
Previous studies that determined water quality in the Aksu River in-
dicated that physicochemical properties of water samples taken month-
ly do not change signicantly (Kalyoncu et al., 2005; Kalyoncu et al.,
2008a; Kalyoncu et al., 2008b; Kalyoncu et al., 2009). Therefore, taking
into account this literature review, monitoring was performed during
a rainy and dry period to observe clear changes in water quality and im-
pacts of pollutants. A total of 42 water samples were collected from
Aksu River in two periods (dry-October 2011 and wet-May 2012) to in-
vestigate river water quality. Geographical positions of sampling sites
were measured with a portable GPS system. Samples were stored in
two polyethylene bottles. One of the bottles was acidied with
suprapure HCl for determining cations, and another was kept
138 . ener et al. / Science of the Total Environment 584585 (2017) 131144

Fig. 6. Water Quality Index (WQI) map.

unacidied for the anion analyses. During sampling, bottles labelled to 4.2. Analytical procedure
avoid misidentication were rinsed in clear spring water several times
and then lled to the top to minimize the entrapment of air in water Measurements of pH, temperature (T; C), electrical conductivity
samples (Larsen et al., 2001), and stored at 4 C in the refrigerator. (EC; S/cm), and dissolved oxygen (DO; mg/L) were carried out in situ
 . ener et al. / Science of the Total Environment 584585 (2017) 131144
with YSI Professional Plus handheld multiparameter instrument cali-
brated with standard solutions. The major cation and trace metal
amounts were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spec-
trometry (ICPMS) within group 2C-MS at the ACME Laboratory
(Canada-ISO 9002 Accredited Co.). The titrimetric method was used
for the determination of the hydroxyl, carbonate, and bicarbonate
concentrations. Additionally, the argentometric method, based on titra-
tion of a sample with silver nitrate was used for the determination of
chloride (AWWA, 1995). Spectrophotometer reagents and a WTW
photoLabSpectral-12 Spectrophotometer were used for the determina-
tion of COD, phosphate, total phosphor, nitrite, nitrate and ammonia.
The WTW Oxitop IS 6 Inductive Stirring System was used for the BOD.
SO4 was determined spectrophotometrically using the barium sulfate
turbidity method (Clesceri et al., 1998; AOAC, 1995). All analyses, ex-
cept for major cation and trace metal concentrations, were performed
at the laboratory of the Geothermal Energy, Groundwater, Mineral Re-
sources Research Center of Suleyman Demirel University (Isparta,
Turkey). The chargebalance error of the water samples was b5%,
which is within the limits of acceptability. The data were analysed
with the help of AquaChem Software. Water quality of the samples
was assessed by calculating WQI values and using several guidelines
(WHO, 2008; TSI-266, 2005).
4.3. Calculation of WQI
WQI is dened as a rating of that reects the composite inuence of
different water quality parameters (Sahu and Sikdar, 2008). Firstly, each
of the chemical parameters was assigned different weights (wi) in a
scale of 1 (least effect on water quality) to 5 (highest effect on water
quality) based on their perceived effects on primary health and accord-
ing to its relative importance in the drinking water quality (Table 3). The
highest weight of 5 was assigned to parameters, that have critical health
effects and whose presence above the critical concentration limits could
limit the usability of the resource for domestic and drinking purposes
(Yidana and Yidana, 2010; Varol and Davraz, 2015). NO3, NO2, Pb, Cr
and Mn were assigned the highest weight (5) because of their major im-
portance in water quality assessment; the minimum weight of 1 was
assigned to parameters Ca, Mg and Na due to the least importance in
water quality assessment. The relative weight (Wi) is computed from
the following equation:
n
Wi wi = wi
i1
where Wi is relative weight, wi is weight of each parameter and n is
number of parameters. Then, a quality rating (qi) for each parameter
is assigned by dividing its concentration in each water sample by its
limits values given by the WHO (2008) and the result multiplied by 100:
Ci
qi  100
Si
where qi is the quality rating, Ci is the concentration of each chemical
parameter in each water sample in mg/L, and Si is the drinking water
standard for each chemical parameter in milligrams per litre according
to the guidelines of the WHO (2008). To calculate WQI, rstly SIi value
should be determined with the following equations,
SIi Wi x qi
n 4601802 S/cm in dry period. The maximum EC values were deter-
WQI SIi
i1
where, SIi is the subindex of ith parameter; qi is the quality rating based
on concentration of ith parameter (Ramakrishnaiah et al., 2009). The
computed WQI values are classied into ve categories as follows
(Sahu and Sikdar, 2008; Yidana and Yidana, 2010).
139
b50 Excellent water
50100 Good water
100200 Poor water
200300 Very poor water
N 300 Unsuitable for drinking
In addition, to determine the water quality parameter with the
greatest inuence on WQI results, the effective weights of the each
water quality parameter were calculated using the ArcGIS Spatial Ana-
lyst tool. The effective weight (Ewi) for each parameter was dened
by dividing its subindex value by overall Water Quality Index value
and the result multiplied by 100 as in the following equations:
SIi
Ewi  100 5
WQI
where, Ewi is effective weight of ith parameter; SIi is the subindex of ith
parameter and WQI is the overall Water Quality Index computed by Eq.
(4). The relative weights were compared with effective weights which
is reects the signicance of each parameter with regard to the other
parameters used in WQI calculations.
5. Results and discussions
In general, water chemistry of rivers can reect changes in water-
sheds, making rivers good indicators of land use (Meybeck and
Helmer, 1989). Additionally, human activity and regional geology are
two of the most important factors affecting hydrology and water quality
of the rivers (Yang et al., 2012). Therefore, different water types and
quality have been dened in rivers with long ow paths. Some studies
have noted that diffuse pollution is a dominant factor contributing to
the deterioration in water quality of rivers (Macleod and Whiteld,
1996; Chang and Wen, 1997; Kurunc et al., 2006; Avvannavar and
Shrihari, 2008; Meeroff et al., 2008; Kannel et al., 2007; Branimarte et
al., 2008; Li et al., 2009; Karakaya and Evrendilek, 2010; Alobaidy et
al., 2010; Zhao et al., 2013). In this study, to determine water quality
of the Aksu River, 42 water samples were collected from 21 locations se-
lected in a wet and dry period (October-2011, May-2012). The analysis
results of the physicochemical characteristics of the river waters are
presented in Table 1 with a basic statistical summary.
1 5.1. Physicochemical parameters of the river water
Water pH indicates acidic or basic nature and it is an important pa-
rameter in drinking and irrigation usages of waters. It has profound ef-
fects on water quality, affecting the solubility of metals, alkalinity and
hardness of water (Osibanjo et al., 2011). The pH values of the river wa-
ters varied from 7.60 to 8.50 in wet and 8.21 to 9.18 during dry seasons.
These results show that water samples of river have alkaline properties.
2 In general, high pH values were determined in locations that are contact
with carbonate rocks. Additionally, samples taken in the dry period
have high pH values compared to the wet period. The water tempera-
ture values varied within a range 11.9025.00 C in the wet period
and 12.9727.25 C in the dry period. The minimum temperature values
were measured at the AK12 locations, maximum values were measured
at the AK17 locations. Electrical conductivity (EC) of water is directly re-
lated to the concentration of dissolved solids in the water. In addition,
3 contaminants can cause high EC values in surface waters. The EC values
of groundwater vary within a range 4301685 S/cm in wet period and
4
mined at locations AK3, AK6 and AK9, which appears to depend on in-
creasing ion contents related to pollutants such as waste from a
marble factory and sewage. In general, the large range of variation in
pH, temperature and EC values of the water samples is notable. The
main reason may be large differences in altitude because the Aksu
River basin covers a large area from south to north; (the altitude of
140 . ener et al. / Science of the Total Environment 584585 (2017) 131144

AK1 is 1085 m, the altitude of AK17 is 10 m.). Differences may also be
due to other geographical characteristics, especially temperature.
DO is the factor that determines biological changes by aerobic or an-
aerobic organisms. Thus, dissolvedoxygen measurement is vital for
maintaining aerobic treatment processes intended to purify domestic
and industrial wastewaters. The optimum value for good water quality
is 4 to 6 mg/L of DO, which ensures healthy aquatic life in a water body
(Alam et al., 2007; Avvannavar and Shrihari, 2008). The in situ mea-
sured dissolved oxygen (DO) values of the water samples ranging
from 2.51 to 9.03 mg/L in the wet period, 2 and 7.44 mg/L in the dry pe-
riod. Low dissolved oxygen values were measured at locations (AK3,
AK9, and AK11) where pollutants were effective. Turbidity values of
the water samples are between 0.64 and 35.67 JTU in the dry period.
The permissible limit of the turbidity is 12.5 JTU according to TSI-266
(2005). The obtained results show that the turbidity values are over
the limit values at the AK3, AK4, AK9 and AK10 locations.
When comparing the wet period analysis results with dry period,
higher concentrations were measured in the dry period for all major
ions. CO3 concentrations vary from 0 to 23.33 mg/L and from 0 to
21.60 mg/L in dry and wet periods, respectively. HCO3 contents of
water ranged from 23.58 to 695.78 mg/L in the dry period and from
22.04 to 650.26 mg/L in the wet period (Table 1). Bicarbonate is present
in considerable amounts according to carbonate ions. Carbonate-rich
rocks, such as crystalline limestone, dolomitic limestone, calcgranulite
and kankar (lime-rich weathered mantle overlies carbonate rocks) are
major sources for carbonate weathering. The available carbonates in
these rocks might have been dissolved and added to the groundwater
system during irrigation, rainfall inltration and groundwater move-
ment (Subramani et al., 2009).
The concentration of SO4 varied in the range of 9.763307.57 mg/L in
the dry period and 9.123091.19 mg/L in the wet period (Table 1). The
main sulfate sources are atmospheric deposition, sulfate-bearing fertil-
izers and bacterial oxidation of sulfur compounds (Wayland et al.,
2003; Sidle et al., 2000). Accordingly, the sulfate might come from the
breakdown of organic substances of weathered soils, leachable sulfate
from fertilizers and other human inuences, such as sulfuric salts in do-
mestic wastewater (Bahar and Yamamuro, 2008; Varol and Davraz,
2015). The Cl contents of water vary from 12.36 to 1198.16 mg/L and
from 11.34 to 1099.26 mg/L in dry and wet periods, respectively
(Table 1). The high values of chloride ions in water may result from
pollution by sewage waste and leaching of saline residues in the soil
and/or may be attributed to anthropogenic activity (Chatterjee et al.,
2010). The chloride and sulfate values do not meet the TSI-266 and
WHO standards and are the major inorganic components deteriorating
water quality for drinking water (ener et al., 2013). The highest bicar-
bonate, chloride and sulfate values were measured at the AK3 and AK6
locations. At these locations, increases in anion contents were related to
discharge of domestic and industrial wastewaters.
Ca and Mg concentrations of water samples varied from 52.90 to
202.81 mg/L and 33.25 to 437.91 mg/L in the dry period, and 48.09 to
184.37 mg/L and 29.17 to 384.13 mg/L in the wet periods, respectively.
The highest magnesium concentration was measured at location AK 17
and this value exceeded the TSI-266 limit. Na concentrations varied
from 5.66 to 125.76 mg/L and from 5.10 to 113.30 mg/L in the dry and
wet periods, respectively. K contents of water were determined as
1.53 to 33.57 mg/L and 1.40 to 30.8 mg/L in the dry and wet periods, re-
spectively (Table 1). Ca+ and Mg2 + are the dominant cations in the
river waters. Ca can be derived from dissolution of carbonate minerals
(e.g., calcite, dolomite, aragonite) as well as carbonate cement within
formations. The primary source of Mg in natural water is ferromagne-
sian minerals (olivine, diopside, biotite, hornblend) within igneous
and metamorphic rocks and magnesium carbonate (dolomite) in sedi-
mentary rock (Singh et al., 2012). The major source of Mg in groundwa-
ter is likely Mg-bearing minerals such as dolomite and magnesium
sulfate minerals in the study area.
The major ions of the water samples were evaluated using
AquaChem 3.7 computer code. According to analysis results, the orders
of anion and cations are HCO3 N SO2 4 N CO2
3 N Cl and Ca+2 N Mg+2-
+ +
Na N K , respectively. However, some differences were found in order
of ions depend on sampling locations. The order of anion is SO 4
2-
HCO3 N CO3 NCl at the AK3, AK6 and AK12 locations; the order of cat-
ion is Mg+2 N Ca+ 2 N Na+ N K+2 at the AK11, AK12, AK16 and AK17
locations. In general, the content of major ions changed according to
water-rock interaction. However, the anthropogenic pollutants domi-
nate in some locations.
5.2. Nutrients and trace metals of river water
Nutrients such as the bioavailable forms of phosphorus and inor-
ganic nitrogen (ammonia, nitrate and nitrite) are important factors

Table 1
Statistical summary of the physical and chemical parameters of the river water.

Dry period Wet period

Parameters Minimum Maximum Mean standard deviation Minimum Maximum Mean Standard deviation

EC (S/cm) 460.10 1802.95 738.69 331.47 430.00 1685.00 690.37 309.79

PH 8.21 9.18 8.70 0.24 7.60 8.50 8.06 0.22
Temperature (C) 12.97 27.25 21.37 3.74 11.90 25.00 19.61 3.43
DO (mg/L) 2.01 7.44 5.57 1.23 2.51 9.30 6.96 1.54
HCO23 (mg/L) 23.58 695.78 273.52 123.42 22.04 650.26 255.63 115.34
CO2
3 (mg/L) 0.00 23.33 1.67 5.16 0.00 21.60 1.54 4.78

Cl (mg/L) 12.36 1198.19 105.96 275.45 11.34 1099.26 97.21 252.71
SO2
4 (mg/L) 9.76 3307.57 403.05 903.20 9.12 3091.19 376.68 844.11
Na (mg/L) 5.66 125.76 26.45 32.74 5.10 113.30 23.83 29.49
Ca (mg/L) 52.90 202.81 95.37 32.71 48.09 184.37 86.70 29.74
K (mg/L) 1.53 33.57 6.14 8.10 1.40 30.80 5.63 7.43
Mg (mg/L) 33.25 437.91 92.15 83.63 29.17 384.13 80.83 73.36
Turbidity (JTU) 0.64 35.67 9.73 10.00 0.52 29.00 7.91 8.13
COD (mg/L) 15.14 178.09 32.55 37.91 13.40 157.60 28.81 33.54
NH+ 3 (mg/L) 0.03 4.12 0.44 1.07 0.03 3.78 0.40 0.98
NH+ 4 (mg/L) 0.03 4.63 0.52 1.29 0.03 4.13 0.46 1.15
NO3 (mg/L) 1.53 6.42 2.91 1.22 1.35 5.68 2.58 1.08
NO2 (mg/L) 0.04 1.71 0.21 0.45 0.03 1.50 0.18 0.39
TOC (mg/L) 19.12 955.58 112.03 263.40 17.07 853.20 100.03 235.18
PO3
4 (mg/L) 0.02 4.42 0.50 1.12 0.02 3.91 0.44 0.99
Total phosphor (mg/L) 0.06 3.55 0.55 1.00 0.05 3.11 0.49 0.88
Pb (mg/L) 0.0011 0.0034 0.0013 0.0005 0.0010 0.0030 0.0011 0.0005
Cr (mg/L) 0.0011 0.0192 0.0026 0.0043 0.0010 0.0170 0.0023 0.0038
Mn (mg/L) 0.0023 0.1438 0.0268 0.0349 0.0020 0.1250 0.0233 0.0303
 . ener et al. / Science of the Total Environment 584585 (2017) 131144
affecting lake water quality (ener et al., 2013). In addition they play
an important role in the eutrophication process in surface waters
(Soulsby et al., 2001). Orthophosphates can be quickly absorbed by
plants and generally have a greater inuence on eutrophication
than nitrogen (Sharpley et al., 2001). Ammonia, on the other hand,
is very toxic to sh when present in its un-ionized form (pH and tem-
perature dependent), even at very low concentrations (Debels et al.,
2005).
Similar results were obtained for the nutrient and trace metal con-
tents of water samples in the dry and wet periods. The ammonia
(NH3) and ammonium (NH4) contents of the Aksu river water were de-
termined as ranging from 0.034.12 mg/L and 0.034.63 mg/L in the dry
period, and 0.033.78 mg/L and 0.034.13 mg/L in the wet period, re-
spectively (Table 1). The NH4 concentrations measured at the AK3 and
AK6 locations exceeded the permissible limit of Turkish Standards
(TSI-266, 2005) 0.5 mg/L. The nitrite (NO2) and nitrate (NO3) contents
of water were 0.041.71 mg/L and 1.536.42 mg/L in the dry period,
and 0.031.50 mg/L and 1.155.68 mg/L in the wet period, respectively
(Table 1). The NO3 contents of water samples are within the TSI-266
(2005) and WHO (2008) limits. But, the NO2 contents of water samples
exceeded the permissible limit of TSI-266 (2005) at the AK3 and AK6 lo-
cations. In the dry period, the total organic carbon (TOC), phosphate and
total phosphorous values of the water samples ranged from 19.12
955.58 mg/L, 0.024.42 mg/L and 0.063.55 mg/L, respectively. The
highest TOC, phosphate, and total phosphorous values were measured
at AK3 and AK6. In addition, total phosphorous values were over the eu-
trophication control limit values (0.1 max) according to Water Pollution
and Control Regulations in Turkey (Anonymous, 1998) at these loca-
tions. High levels of total phosphorus and other nutrients have been re-
ported to encourage eutrophication which could further deplete the
dissolved oxygen levels of the rivers (Fakayode, 2005; Minareci et al.,
2009). Similar temporal variations in concentration of nutrients have
been reported by Shrestha and Kazama (2007). Furthermore, the nutri-
ent pollution in the branches of the Dahe River showed extremely high
values especially in rainy season due to agricultural runoff (Tanaka et
al., 2013). In this case study, the excessive nutrient values are related
to pollutant sources such as sewage; and fertilizer and pesticide use
by agricultural activities, according to eld observations. COD tests pre-
dict oxygen requirements during the decomposition of organic matter
and oxidation of inorganic chemicals. Theoretically, if COD concentra-
tion is higher, then the water is considered polluted (Amneera et al.,
2013). The COD values were between 15.14 mg/L and 178.09 mg/L
with all values from all sampling locations over the permissible limit
set by WHO (2008) of 10 mg/L. River water had appreciable increases
in COD values in the northern part of the river, likely from industrial
activities.
Trace metals may be present in natural surface water and ground-
water, while the sources of these metals are associated with either
natural processes or human activities (Al-Khashman, 2007). Pb, Al,
Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Zn, Fe, and Mn analysis were performed but only Pb,
Cr and Mn concentrations were found above detection limits. The
Pb, Cr and Mn contents of water samples were determined as ranging
from 0.00110.0034 mg/L, 0.00110.0192 mg/L and 0.0023
0.1438 mg/L in the dry period, respectively. The Pb, Cr and Mn con-
tents were changed to 0.0010.003 mg/L, 0.0010.017 mg/L and
0.0020.1250 mg/L in wet period, respectively (Table 1). The Pb
and Cr concentrations are within the permissible limit of WHO
(2008) and TSI 266 (2005). However, Mn concentrations exceeded
the permissible limit of WHO (2008) and TSI 266 (2005) at the
AK3, AK6 and AK12 locations. High values at the AK3 and AK6 loca-
tions are related to anthropogenic pollutants. However, the high
Mn content at the AK12 is related to the water rock interaction
with ophiolitic rocks in the river basin. The high Mn concentrations
might be related to high levels of manganese in the surrounding
ore bearing landmass as the rivers owing through the ore bearing
terrain might be picking up the element (Zingde et al., 1976).
141
5.3. Correlation analysis
Pearson linear correlation matrix was generated using dry period
analysis results using 13 parameters (pH, HCO3, Cl, SO4, Na, Ca, Mg,
COD, NO3, NO2, Pb, Cr, Mn), the most effective water quality parameters
to dene any co-variation (Table 2). The obtained results indicates very
strong positive correlations between Cl and SO4, Na, COD and Cr; SO4
with COD, NO2 and Cr; Na with COD, NO2; COD with NO2, Cr and strong
positive correlations between HCO3 with Cl, SO4, Na, COD, NO2, Cr; Cl
with NO2, SO4 with Mn; Na with Cr, Mn; and NO2 with Mn. pH shows
weak and very weak positive correlations with all parameters except
for Pb. While Ca has very weak positive correlation with HCO3, Na,
NO3, NO2 and Mn; it has very weak negative correlations with Cl, SO4,
COD, Pb and Cr. The similar weak negative correlation is shown between
Mg and all parameters except for pH and Ca. NO3 shows a weak positive
correlation with pH, HCO3, SO4, Na, NO2, Pb and Mn shows a moderate
positive correlation with Cl and Cr. In general, correlation coefcients
between pairs of water quality parameter concentrations indicate that
chloride and sulfate values signicantly correlate with pollutant param-
eters such as nutrients and trace metals. This suggests that these nutri-
ents and trace metals have high values as a result of anthropogenic
pollutants in the study area.
5.4. Assessment of the water quality using WQI
In this study, water quality of the Aksu River was evaluated for
drinking purposes. To assess water quality of the river, the WQI method
was used. pH, HCO3, Cl, SO4, Na, Ca, Mg, COD, NO3, NO2, Pb, Cr and Mn
were taken into account for calculation of the WQI value for each sam-
pling location and both periods (dry and wet). The analysis results be-
longing to all 21 sampling points were used for quality evaluation.
Furthermore, the World Health Organization (WHO, 2008) limits were
utilized for calculations. The distribution maps of the water quality pa-
rameters (pH, HCO3, Cl, SO4, Na, Ca, Mg, COD, NO3, NO2, Pb, Cr and
Mn) and also nal WQI map of the river were prepared using Geograph-
ic Information System (GIS) techniques and presented in Figs. 4, 5 and 6.
To calculate WQI values at each sampling point, the weight values
were determined for each water quality parameter according to their
relative importance in the overall quality of water for drinking purposes
(Table 3). The highest weight of 5 was assigned to parameters such as
nutrients and trace metals; which have the major effects on water qual-
ity especially for drinking purposes. Trace metal accumulations deter-
mined in waters indicate the presence of natural or anthropogenic
sources. It may affect human health if they reach levels such that they
constitute toxic pollutants (Yang et al., 2002; Bibi et al., 2007). Similarly,
nitrogen compounds are present in water in the form of nitrate (NO3)
and nitrite (NO2) ions. Nitrite is more toxic to animal and human health
than nitrate (Varol and Davraz, 2015). Additionally, the consumption of
water with high nitrate concentration causes blue babies or methemo-
globinemia disease in infants, gastric carcinomas, abnormal pain, cen-
tral nervous system birth defects, and diabetes (Vasanthavigar et al.,
2010; Varol and Davraz, 2015). The parameters pH, SO4 and COD
were assigned a weight of 4; HCO3 and Cl were assigned a weight of 3
taking into consideration their importance in water quality. The mini-
mum weight of 2 was assigned to the Ca, Mg and Na because of their
least importance in water quality. Then, the relative weights (Wi)
were computed for each parameter using Eq. (1). The results are
given in Table 3. WQI values were calculated using the other related
Eqs. (2), (3) and (4) and water quality types were determined for
each sampling point (Table 4).
The computed WQI values are between 35.6133 and 337.5198 in the
dry period; and between 32.1063 and 304.3386 in the wet period. In ad-
dition, the water quality of Aksu River is in the excellent to unsuitable
for drinking range for both periods mainly due to input of municipal
and industrial wastes and/or agricultural activities discharge at the
bank of the river. In general, the same water quality classes were
142 . ener et al. / Science of the Total Environment 584585 (2017) 131144

Table 2
Pearson's linear correlation matrix of physicochemical parameters.

pH HCO3 Cl SO2
4 Na Ca Mg COD NO3 NO2 Pb Cr Mn

pH 1
HCO3 0.242 1
Cl 0.229 0.856 1
SO2
4 0.287 0.800 0.951 1
Na 0.250 0.838 0.897 0.937 1
Ca 0.003 0.070 0.054 0.016 0.045 1
Mg 0.314 0.067 0.080 0.073 0.095 0.736 1
COD 0.256 0.834 0.995 0.966 0.918 0.049 0.074 1
NO3 0.300 0.453 0.567 0.460 0.446 0.029 0.018 0.565 1
NO2 0.308 0.726 0.873 0.976 0.892 0.030 0.027 0.895 0.316 1
Pb 0.180 0.330 0.365 0.266 0.241 0.196 0.110 0.367 0.116 0.212 1
Cr 0.244 0.817 0.982 0.950 0.880 0.005 0.057 0.983 0.565 0.884 0.345 1
Mn 0.015 0.294 0.570 0.735 0.712 0.004 0.067 0.626 0.119 0.770 0.156 0.581 1
p b 0.05.
p b 0.01.

observed in all water samples except for at location AK17 for the dry and the relative weight assigned by WQI (8.16%). Cr and NO2 parameters
wet period (Table 4). The data points from locations AK2, AK4, AK5, have the lowest mean effective weights with 0.52% and 0.57%, respec-
AK7, AK8, AK14, AK15, AK16, AK19, AK20 and AK21 are classied as ex- tively. The most striking result is that nutrients and trace metals have
cellent water; the data points from locations AK1, AK9, AK10, AK11, the highest relative weights, and at the same time have the lowest
AK12, AK13 and AK18 are classied as good water; while the data mean effective weights. This observation is primarily due to these pa-
point of AK17 is classied as poor water in the dry period, and as good rameters measured were at very low concentrations in water samples.
water in the wet period; the data point from locations AK6 is classied
as very poor water and the data point from locations AK3 is classied 6. Conclusions
as unsuitable for drinking purpose.
The WQI distribution map shows that, while Aksu River has good In this study, water quality of the Aksu River and its suitability as
water quality within Isparta, water quality of the river deteriorates seri- drinking water were evaluated. The Aksu River is the main river
ously because of the discharging waste waters of Isparta city, leather in- recharging the Karacaren-1 Dam Lake. To evaluate water quality of
dustry and marble factories, located in the north of the basin (Fig. 6). If the Aksu River, 21 sampling sites were determined and 24 water quality
the river recharges from tributaries with high ow along the ow path, parameters were selected for seasonal monitoring and analysis. Physi-
the quantity of impurities can be diluted and it becomes good water cochemical analysis results indicate that, the river water samples have
quality; again. The Aksu River is the main river recharging to the alkaline properties, EC values of water samples varied in the range
Karacaren-1 Dam Lake, which have drinking water taken from it for 460 and 1802 S/cm for dry period. Due to negative effects of pollutants,
Antalya city. The water quality of the river is excellent after the three locations had measured low dissolved oxygen values and turbidi-
Karacaren-1 Dam Lake along ow path. However, it again deteriorates ty values over the permissible limit of TSI-266 (2005). The order of
and becomes poor due to intensive agricultural activity. anion and cations are HCO3 N SO2 2
4 N CO3 N Cl and Ca
+2
N Mg+2 N Na+-
+
The effective weight values of the each water quality parameter K in water samples. In general, the major ion contents of water sam-
were determined by using ArcGIS Spatial Analyst tool and Eq. (5). The ples are related to water-rock interaction. The anthropogenic pollutants
results were statistically summarized in Table 5 and the effective dominate some locations. The nutrient and trace metal values, except
weights were compared with relative weights of the each water quality
parameter. According to calculations, the highest mean effective Table 4
weights value belongs to COD and Mg parameters with 32.81% and WQI values and water types of the samples.
24.19%, respectively and these parameters are the most effective param-
Sample WQI Water type WQI Water type
eters in the WQI calculations. However, the relative weight of COD no
(8.16%) is higher than the Mg parameter (4.08%). The other parameters Dry period Wet period
(Ca and Na) with low relative weight also show low effective weight 1 64.1574 Good water 57.3307 Good water
(Table 5). The pH also shows high effective weight (15.71%), exceeding 2 45.3914 Excellent water 40.6808 Excellent water
Unsuitable for Unsuitable for
3 337.5198 304.3387
drinking drinking
Table 3 4 39.1808 Excellent water 35.0597 Excellent water
Relative weight of chemical parameters. 5 35.6133 Excellent water 32.1063 Excellent water
6 255.5006 Very poor water 231.2742 Very poor water
Parameters WHO standards (2008) Weight (wi) Relative weight (Wi)
7 39.3942 Excellent water 35.3570 Excellent water
PH 6.58.5 4 0.0816 8 43.5049 Excellent water 39.0889 Excellent water
HCO3 3 0.0612 9 62.8933 Good water 56.4539 Good water
Cl 250 3 0.0612 10 65.8849 Good water 58.9624 Good water
SO4 250 4 0.0816 11 55.9677 Good water 50.1829 Good water
NO3 50 5 0.1020 12 69.5405 Good water 61.7317 Good water
NO2 3 5 0.1020 13 57.6326 Good water 51.6043 Good water
Ca 300 2 0.0408 14 49.1267 Excellent water 45.8967 Excellent water
Mg 30 2 0.0408 15 37.6103 Excellent water 33.7350 Excellent water
Na 200 2 0.0408 16 47.7013 Excellent water 42.8066 Excellent water
COD 10.00 4 0.0816 17 102.7453 Poor water 88.5460 Good water
Pb 0.01 5 0.1020 18 60.9263 Good water 54.5726 Good water
Cr 0.05 5 0.1020 19 42.6558 Excellent water 38.2708 Excellent water
Mn 0.05 5 0.1020 20 40.1331 Excellent water 36.0029 Excellent water
wi = 49 Wi = 1 21 43.9172 Excellent water 39.4048 Excellent water
 . ener et al. / Science of the Total Environment 584585 (2017) 131144 143

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