Alpaslan Ekdal | Istanbul Technical University (original) (raw)
Papers by Alpaslan Ekdal
Journal of Environmental Management, 2010
Istanbul, being one of the highly populated metropolitan areas of the world, has been facing wate... more Istanbul, being one of the highly populated metropolitan areas of the world, has been facing water scarcity since the past decade. Water transfer from Melen Watershed was considered as the most feasible option to supply water to Istanbul due to its high water potential and relatively less degraded water quality. This study consists of two parts. In the first part, water quality data covering 26 parameters from 5 monitoring stations were analyzed and assessed due to the requirements of the "Quality Required of Surface Water Intended for the Abstraction of Drinking Water" regulation. In the second part, a onedimensional stream water quality model with simple water quality kinetics was developed. It formed a basic design for more advanced water quality models for the watershed. The reason for assessing the water quality data and developing a model was to provide information for decision making on preliminary actions to prevent any further deterioration of existing water quality. According to the water quality assessment at the water abstraction point, Melen River has relatively poor water quality with regard to NH 4 þ , BOD 5 , faecal streptococcus, manganese and phenol parameters, and is unsuitable for drinking water abstraction in terms of COD, PO 4 3À , total coliform, total suspended solids, mercury and total chromium parameters. The results derived from the model were found to be consistent with the water quality assessment. It also showed that relatively high inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations along the streams are related to diffuse nutrient loads that should be managed together with municipal and industrial wastewaters.
Water and Environment Journal, 2011
Diffuse pollution has a complex nature depending on various land-use activities like agriculture,... more Diffuse pollution has a complex nature depending on various land-use activities like agriculture, livestock breeding and forestry. In this study, an alternative methodology is applied for decreasing the spatial uncertainty of diffuse nutrient load estimations. It is applied in the Melen Watershed, Turkey, which is an important watershed from where additional water will be supplied for the megacity Istanbul via interbasin water transfer. Monthly diffuse nutrient loads were estimated for each subwatershed by utilizing remote sensing (RS) and geographical information systems (GIS). Estimated nutrient loads were considerably different in various months due to the temporally irregular fertilizer application and meteorological conditions. Temporal differences were also predicted in the spatial distribution of the nutrient loads. The methodology is applicable in watershed protection studies, especially where necessary etudes should be conducted in the short term and with limited data. Such efforts in identifying and determining the diffuse loads are important for sustainable management of the watershed.
Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, 2004
This paper presents part of the results of ongoing integrated and interdisciplinary studies condu... more This paper presents part of the results of ongoing integrated and interdisciplinary studies conducted at a vulnerable coastal lagoon system with the aim of protecting it from further anthropogenic pollution. The target area is in southwestern Turkey, consisting of a lake that joins the Mediterranean Sea via a lagoon channel system. Land resources in the watershed are identified, including all
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 2007
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 2007
Soil is an important component of a watershed. Understanding soils and their interactions with th... more Soil is an important component of a watershed. Understanding soils and their interactions with the other components are, thus, considered to be critical and essential for conservation of resources and management of the watershed. Development of soil sampling and analysis programs are crucial for these purposes. Site-specific soil data are needed to identify current soil characteristics, as well as to
Environmental Management and Health, 2002
Chemical treatability of dairy wastewater originating from a dairy and dairy products plant at Is... more Chemical treatability of dairy wastewater originating from a dairy and dairy products plant at Istanbul was investigated on the basis of chemical oxygen demand (COD) parameter as a pre-treatment alternative. FeCl3, FeSO4 and alum were used as coagulants in the jar-test experiments of four sets of daily composite wastewater samples taken once every month. The effect of acid cracking has
Istanbul, the largest metropolis of Turkey and one of the most crowded metropolises in the world,... more Istanbul, the largest metropolis of Turkey and one of the most crowded metropolises in the world, is facing the risk of water scarcity. Analyses indicated that one of the alternative solutions coping with this problem is water transfer from a watershed that is located outside the administrative boundaries of Istanbul. Due to its water potential and relatively less degraded water
Water Science & Technology
Reuse of wastewater for irrigational purposes in agriculture has been a widely applied practice a... more Reuse of wastewater for irrigational purposes in agriculture has been a widely applied practice all around the world compared to such applications in industries. In most of the developing countries, high costs of wastewater treatment stimulate the direct reuse of raw or partly treated effluent in irrigation despite the socio-cultural objections in some countries regarding religious rituals towards consuming wastewater. In Turkey, reuse applications in agriculture have been in use by indirect application by means of withdrawing water from the downstream end of treatment plants. Such practices affected the deterioration of surface water resources due to the lack of water quality monitoring and control. However, more conscious and planned reuse activities in agriculture have recently started by the operation of urban wastewater treatment plants. Turkey does not face any severe water scarcity problems for the time being, but as the water resources show the signs of water quality deterioration it seems to be one of the priority issues in the near future. The industrial reuse activities are only at the research stage especially in industries consuming high amounts of water. In-plant control implementation is the preferred effort of minimizing water consumption in such industries. The current reuse activities are outlined in the article forming an example from a developing country.
Journal of Environmental Management, 2010
Istanbul, being one of the highly populated metropolitan areas of the world, has been facing wate... more Istanbul, being one of the highly populated metropolitan areas of the world, has been facing water scarcity since the past decade. Water transfer from Melen Watershed was considered as the most feasible option to supply water to Istanbul due to its high water potential and relatively less degraded water quality. This study consists of two parts. In the first part, water quality data covering 26 parameters from 5 monitoring stations were analyzed and assessed due to the requirements of the "Quality Required of Surface Water Intended for the Abstraction of Drinking Water" regulation. In the second part, a onedimensional stream water quality model with simple water quality kinetics was developed. It formed a basic design for more advanced water quality models for the watershed. The reason for assessing the water quality data and developing a model was to provide information for decision making on preliminary actions to prevent any further deterioration of existing water quality. According to the water quality assessment at the water abstraction point, Melen River has relatively poor water quality with regard to NH 4 þ , BOD 5 , faecal streptococcus, manganese and phenol parameters, and is unsuitable for drinking water abstraction in terms of COD, PO 4 3À , total coliform, total suspended solids, mercury and total chromium parameters. The results derived from the model were found to be consistent with the water quality assessment. It also showed that relatively high inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations along the streams are related to diffuse nutrient loads that should be managed together with municipal and industrial wastewaters.
Water and Environment Journal, 2011
Diffuse pollution has a complex nature depending on various land-use activities like agriculture,... more Diffuse pollution has a complex nature depending on various land-use activities like agriculture, livestock breeding and forestry. In this study, an alternative methodology is applied for decreasing the spatial uncertainty of diffuse nutrient load estimations. It is applied in the Melen Watershed, Turkey, which is an important watershed from where additional water will be supplied for the megacity Istanbul via interbasin water transfer. Monthly diffuse nutrient loads were estimated for each subwatershed by utilizing remote sensing (RS) and geographical information systems (GIS). Estimated nutrient loads were considerably different in various months due to the temporally irregular fertilizer application and meteorological conditions. Temporal differences were also predicted in the spatial distribution of the nutrient loads. The methodology is applicable in watershed protection studies, especially where necessary etudes should be conducted in the short term and with limited data. Such efforts in identifying and determining the diffuse loads are important for sustainable management of the watershed.
Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, 2004
This paper presents part of the results of ongoing integrated and interdisciplinary studies condu... more This paper presents part of the results of ongoing integrated and interdisciplinary studies conducted at a vulnerable coastal lagoon system with the aim of protecting it from further anthropogenic pollution. The target area is in southwestern Turkey, consisting of a lake that joins the Mediterranean Sea via a lagoon channel system. Land resources in the watershed are identified, including all
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 2007
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 2007
Soil is an important component of a watershed. Understanding soils and their interactions with th... more Soil is an important component of a watershed. Understanding soils and their interactions with the other components are, thus, considered to be critical and essential for conservation of resources and management of the watershed. Development of soil sampling and analysis programs are crucial for these purposes. Site-specific soil data are needed to identify current soil characteristics, as well as to
Environmental Management and Health, 2002
Chemical treatability of dairy wastewater originating from a dairy and dairy products plant at Is... more Chemical treatability of dairy wastewater originating from a dairy and dairy products plant at Istanbul was investigated on the basis of chemical oxygen demand (COD) parameter as a pre-treatment alternative. FeCl3, FeSO4 and alum were used as coagulants in the jar-test experiments of four sets of daily composite wastewater samples taken once every month. The effect of acid cracking has
Istanbul, the largest metropolis of Turkey and one of the most crowded metropolises in the world,... more Istanbul, the largest metropolis of Turkey and one of the most crowded metropolises in the world, is facing the risk of water scarcity. Analyses indicated that one of the alternative solutions coping with this problem is water transfer from a watershed that is located outside the administrative boundaries of Istanbul. Due to its water potential and relatively less degraded water
Water Science & Technology
Reuse of wastewater for irrigational purposes in agriculture has been a widely applied practice a... more Reuse of wastewater for irrigational purposes in agriculture has been a widely applied practice all around the world compared to such applications in industries. In most of the developing countries, high costs of wastewater treatment stimulate the direct reuse of raw or partly treated effluent in irrigation despite the socio-cultural objections in some countries regarding religious rituals towards consuming wastewater. In Turkey, reuse applications in agriculture have been in use by indirect application by means of withdrawing water from the downstream end of treatment plants. Such practices affected the deterioration of surface water resources due to the lack of water quality monitoring and control. However, more conscious and planned reuse activities in agriculture have recently started by the operation of urban wastewater treatment plants. Turkey does not face any severe water scarcity problems for the time being, but as the water resources show the signs of water quality deterioration it seems to be one of the priority issues in the near future. The industrial reuse activities are only at the research stage especially in industries consuming high amounts of water. In-plant control implementation is the preferred effort of minimizing water consumption in such industries. The current reuse activities are outlined in the article forming an example from a developing country.