Potential contaminants and risk assessment in the Meriç-Ergene Basin under the EU Water Framework Directive

The European Union's Water Framework Directive (WFD) 2000/60/EC provides a strategic solution to deal with chemical pollution in rivers. The directive encompasses monitoring and detection of 45 priority pollutants and specific contaminants found in surface waters. An increase in the number of compounds to be monitored may pose a challenge. Hence, it is crucial to prioritize pollutants that require immediate action in the short, medium, and long term based on capacity reports submitted by relevant industries in high-pollution basins. As a consequence of this, prioritizing studies in basins has gained significance in terms of the process of planning the monitoring of chemicals that call for immediate action and lowering the expenses associated with monitoring. Three strategies are used to be the most effective for identifying specific pollutants: the COMMPS method, THS, and TIS. These strategies prioritize and eliminate contaminants. According to this knowledge, a number of studies for the Meriç-Ergene basin were conducted. The Meriç-Ergene Basin is situated in the Thrace Sub-Region, which extends from the Istanbul Provincial border in the east to the Bulgarian and Greek borders in the west, in the transition zone from the Marmara Region to Europe. Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended to monitor a total of 88 contaminants in the Meriç-Ergene basin in Turkey. Furthermore, the prominent substances on this list have been classified as pollutants that require monitoring and immediate action in the basin, with monitoring being prioritized.