Seasonal Monitoring of Water Quality Parameters and Pesticides at the Altınapa Reservoir Watershed

Altınapa Reservoir is a reservoir located on the Meram Stream in the Konya Province in Türkiye that supplies drinking water. The Altınapa Reservoir feeds the Konya Drinking Water Treatment Plant with 37.8 million m3 of water annually and the treated water is delivered by the drinking water network. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of agricultural activities and settlements on water quality in the Altınapa Reservoir Watershed. In the study, major water quality parameters (pH, electrical conductivity, total organic carbon, total nitrogen, nitrite, nitrate, phosphorus, phosphate, and total suspended solids) and pesticides were monitored at four stations (K1, K2, K3, K4) on the sub-streams feeding reservoir. Major water quality parameters were monitored at monthly intervals for 12 months between June 2020 and May 2021, and pesticides were monitored seasonally at 4 seasons (Fall 2019, Winter 2020, Summer 2020, and Spring 2021). A correlation matrix was used to assess the connections between nine indicators of water quality. The annual average conductivity and pH values of the samples taken from four different stations of the Meram Stream were 432 µS/cm and 8.04, respect