Sustainable Water Management Solutions for Large Cities (Proceedings of symposium S2 held during the Seventh IAHS Scientific Assembly at Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, April 2005). IAHS Publ. 293, 2005, 289-293

Abstract The quality of surface water is affected by many factors. Urbanization, industrial wastewaters and agricultural practices can influence the surface water quality. Therefore, it is reasonable to make use of Principle Components Analysis (PCA) in evaluating water quality data, as done in this study, to lessen the high number of parameters involved that are closely correlated. Using the findings from the application of PCA to the data, the clarification of the main factors causing the water pollution in the study area was facilitated. Since the water potential and pollution load is relatively higher downstream of Edirne, Turkey, a large city located on the Meric (Maritza) River, the water quality and discharge data collected downstream are used in this study.

Key words Principle Components Analysis (PCA); water pollution; water quality