Salinity and Seawater Intrusion into the Ground Water

Many shallow and deep wells were dug on the coastal plains to meet drinking water needs, and to satisfy industrial and irrigation requirements of private establishments. The excess water drawn for drinking and irrigating purposes affects the water reservoir resulting in a lowering of the "water table". Consequently, there is intrusion of seawater into the reservoir, which results in salinity problems. The negative effects of using salt water on agricultural crops and seawater intrusion occurred because of excessive abstraction of water from the bore-holes located in the coastal plains of Hersek, Taşköprü, and Altinova in Yalova region, Turkey. Previous studies have shown that the depth of shallow wells ranged from 5 m to 20 m in depth and deep wells ranged between 16 m and 243 m. Seawater intrusion was found within a 1 km radius of the coastal line of the research area.