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IMPACTS OF CONSECUTIVELY BUILT RUN-OF-RIVER HYDROPOWER PLANTS ON WATER QUALITY OF KABACA STREAM IN TURKIYE

2023    Ozalp, M.; Ozay, G.

This study examined the effects of multiple run-of-river hydroelectric power plants (RoR-HEPPs) on water quality, discharge, and total suspended solids (TSS) in Kabaca Stream, Turkiye. At ten sampling points, portable devices were used to measure pH, water temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), electrical conductivity (EC), salinity, total dissolved substances (TDS), and nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) values. Monthly discharge and TSS quantities were estimated on-site and in the lab. To study the effects of RoR-HEPPs on selected water quality indicators, sample locations were split into three categories: before regulators, in between HEPPs, and after HEPPs. The sequentially constructed RoR-HEPPs negatively affected the mean values for most water quality parameters in Kabaca Stream, as the mean amounts of EC, salinity, TDS, and TSS measured as 65.9 mu S/cm, 0.047 ppt, 0.064 mg/l, and 4.60 mg/l at the before sections increased to 98.7 mu S/cm, 0.072 ppt, 0.099 mg/l, and 17.34 mg/l at the after sections. The installation of water transmission lines and roads for the RoR-HEPPs destroyed steep mountainous forest slopes, releasing massive amounts of sediments and other contaminants into the stream bed. Since the RoR-HEPPs taken in up to 90% of the stream water, the mean discharge rate dropped from 3.27 m(3)/s at the after sections to 0.90 m(3)/s at the between sections.