Investigation of temporal trends in hydrochemical quality of surface water in western Turkey

This study comprises application of non-parametric trend analysis (Mann-Kendall test and Sen's Slope estimator techniques) and multidimensional scaling method to water quality data sets. Water samples analyzed (for chloride, nitrate-nitrogen, sodium, sulfate and total dissolved solid parameters) semi-monthly at seven river monitoring stations in Tahtali Basin, Turkey for 6 years were evaluated. The results revealed that agricultural discharges caused spatial differences in terms of water quality in the basin. Moreover, variable concentrations generally decreased or did not change over time. This study showed that, trend detection and data grouping methods help decision makers to judge effectiveness of management programs.