Water Quality and Risk Assessment in Rainwater Harvesting Ponds

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the water quality of rainwater harvesting ponds in Istanbul which are used for irrigation. For this purpose, samples were collected from 17 rainwater harvesting ponds during the summer of 2022 and selected physicochemical and biological characterization of these samples was carried out. Cyanobacterial bloom was observed in 2 ponds out of 17 and the dominant species were potentially cyanotoxin producers (Microcystis, Aphanizomenon, Dolichospermum, Planktothrix, and Cuspidothrix). It is found that one of these ponds was not proper for irrigation purposes due to microcystin presence. To increase the water quality in these reservoirs, onsite management strategies should be taken into consideration.

Keywords

• irrigation
• rainwater harvesting
• rainwater quality
• water security
• cyanotoxins
• climate change