Ecology & Safety ISSN 1314-7234, Volume 11, 2017 Journal of International Scientific Publications www.scientific-publications.net Page 402 DEEP SEA DISCHARGE SYSTEM TURBIDITY COMPARISON OVER TIME Şebnem Erkebay, Cem Erkebay, Arzu Morkoyunlu Yüce Kocaeli University, Hereke Ömer İsmet Uzunyol Vocational High School, 41800 Hereke, Kocaeli Kocaeli University, Gazanfer Bilge Vocational High School, 41500 Karamürsel, Kocaeli Abstract The rapid increase in the population has visibly affected the amount of household waste water. The discharge of household waste water into the sea has been used as an elimination method for many years. Deep sea discharge systems have been accepted as a more effective method in recent years. The aim of this study is to examine the efficiency of this method. The turbidity values obtained in the studies conducted in Trabzon province Söğütlü region of Turkey in 5 years interval were compared. Initial measurements in this area were provided by single pipe but 5 years later the diffuser system was employed. In measurements made in October, February and April, it was observed that the turbidity values at the outlet of the pipe decreased as the current values were taken into account, but the turbidity values increased when get close to the shore. Key words: deep sea discharge, turbidity, water pollution 1. INTRODUCTION Turbidity is the measure of relative clarity of a liquid. It is an optical characteristic of water and is an expression of the amount of light that is scattered by material in the water when a light is penetrated through the water sample. The higher the intensity of scattered light the higher the turbidity. Material that causes water to be turbid include clay, silt, fine inorganic and organic matter, algae, soluble colored organic compounds, and plankton and other microscopic organisms. Turbidity makes water cloudy or opaque. High concentration of particulate matter affect light penetration and productivity, recreational values, and habitat quality, and cause lakes to fill in faster. In streams, increased sedimentation and siltation can harm to habitat of fish and other aquatic life. Particles also provide attachment site for other pollutants, notably metals and bacteria. Therefore, turbidity readings can be used an indicator of potential pollution in a water body (USGS, 2017). The provincial mountains of Trabzon where the study is made are parallel to the coast and the settlement starts from the coast. Therefore urgent elimination of household waste water is important. For this reason, waste is removed by deep sea discharge and diluted in marine environment. This method is based on leaving the pre-treated waste to the sea via submerged pipes and diffusers in order to benefit from the dilution and natural treatment processes of the marine areas which previously determined to have sufficient treatment capacity. During the initial measurements made in this study, deep sea discharges were made by means of single pipe. In the subsequent measurements, the use of diffuser was started (The diffuser had been mounted open end of the pipe). The comparison of the two measurements will give us a chance to compare distribution efficiency of the two methods. 1.1. Physical Properties of the Discharge Line The characteristics of the pipeline, active during the first measurement are given in Table 1.