Groundwater pollution in Iskenderun karst basin, SE Turkey

Iskenderun city, situated in the East-Mediterranean region of Turkey, suffers from shortage of water as a consequence of rapid economic development and population increase. The two main water bearing lithologic formations in oskenderun province are the coastal alluvium and the extensively karstified carbonate rocks. Abuse of the karstic depressions and solution cavities as waste disposal sites threatens the karst aquifer seriously. The main sources of groundwater contamination in Iskenderun area were determined by monitoring the springs and wells and subsequently the protection areas were delineated by means of morphologic, hydrologic analyses, and tracing techniques. Apart from the technical side, educating the local authorities and the public about the role of karstic features in karst groundwater pollution is not less important task than the technical works in preventing pollution. Measures to be taken in this account are discussed in this paper.