A preliminary investigation of the effects of surface waters of the Bakırçay River on the growth of green algae Scenedesmus dimorphus

Abstract

Bakırçay River, one of the important rivers of the Aegean region, has a length of 129 km and an approximate catchment area of 3160 km2. Bakırçay River, which carries agricultural drainage and polluted wastewater with high nitrogen and phosphorus content, is polluted due to domestic and agricultural resources. The water of the Bakırçay River is used for irrigation in agriculture and fishing from the dam lakes on the river for feeding purposes also negatively affects the health of the people in the vicinity. In the Bakırçay River, there is widespread pollution caused by mining areas as well as domestic, industrial and agricultural pollution. For this purpose, the “Algal Growth Inhibition Test, OECD 201” was applied to the water samples obtained from 10 stations on the Bakırçay River. Scenedesmus dimorphus (Turpin) Kützing, 1834 green algae culture, accepted as the primary trophic level representative for the " Algal Growth Inhibition Test, OECD 201" test, one of the short-term phytotoxicity test methods, was used in this test. Water samples were tested at five different dilutions (40, 60, 80, 100 %). To determine the effects on the growth of Scenedesmus dimorphus, the cells were counted by fluorimeter (Turner design) daily at the same time and the test duration was 72 hours. In conclusion, the highest level of toxicity was found at Stations 1, 9, 10,13,14, and 15. The reason for this was that there was a coal facility near Station 9 and that all branches of the Bakırçay River joined near Station15 and then drained into Çandarlı Bay.