Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
WATER AIR AND SOIL POLLUTION, cilt.237, sa.3, 2025 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
This study investigates the ecological consequences of water quality deterioration in a multi-use freshwater reservoir located in northeastern T & uuml;rkiye, within the Black Sea drainage basin. The study area, Bor & ccedil;ka Dam Lake, is an artificial reservoir on the & Ccedil;oruh River that supports irrigation, hydropower, aquaculture, and downstream water regulation. Despite its strategic importance, the lake faces growing anthropogenic pressures, particularly from agricultural runoff and expanding cage-based aquaculture. These stressors raise concerns about nutrient enrichment, organic pollution, and overall ecological health. Seasonal water quality monitoring was conducted at five stations between March 2022 and February 2023. Physicochemical parameters were assessed using multiple indices, including the Water Quality Index (WQI), the Weighted Arithmetic Water Quality Index (WAWQI), Carlson's Trophic State Index (CTSI), the Eutrophication Index (EI), and the Organic Pollution Index (OPI). The lake generally exhibited Class II (Good) water quality for dissolved oxygen, pH, and conductivity, but ammonium nitrogen concentrations placed it in Class III (Moderate). While CTSI suggested oligotrophic conditions, pollution indices such as EI and OPI reflected significant nutrient and organic loading. This discrepancy suggests that nutrient accumulation has not yet led to algal blooms, possibly due to seasonal variability, dilution, or ecological buffering Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed that chlorophyll-a, total suspended solids, biochemical oxygen demand, and nitrogen compounds were key drivers of spatio-seasonal variation. These findings emphasize the importance of integrated watershed and aquaculture management strategies to preserve the ecological health of Bor & ccedil;ka Dam Lake and mitigate downstream impacts on the Black Sea.