Abstract
Water quality parameters were measured in Acı Lake. The measurements were carried out in water samples taken from five different stations over ten months. According to the results of the analyses done on the samples of water, without taking into consideration the differences of seasons and stations, the average annual values of heavy metal concentrations for Cr, Cu and Ni were found to be 0.10 mg/l, 0.11 mg/l and 0.19 mg/l dry weight, respectively. Surprisingly, Co and Cd metals were not detected at any station or at any season. Other water quality parameters, namely pH, turbidity and nitrate, fall in the intermediate value range for these measures. The comparisons of the measured parameters and the metal concentration with the water quality index show that the water quality of Acı Lake prevents the water being used as irrigation water due to high salt levels.