New approach to determine the protection zones for drinking water basins: The case study of Kırklareli dam

Abstract

Increasing of human activities has negative effects on the sustainability of environmental resources. Economic development aimed land use change decissions are negative pressure on sensitive ecosystems. However, planning activities within administrative boundaries where natural thresholds are not taken into consideration are not effective in providing protection-utilization balance of sensitive ecosystems. Drinking water basins are indispensable ecological units for urban settlements. In Turkey drinking water basin planning process carried out based on euclidean distance measurement system. Therefore unique conditions of the region can not be evaluated sufficiently. Within the scope of this study; firstly, the land use changes of the drinking water basin of the Kırklareli City are going to be evaluated for different years by using Corine Land Cover Data. Secondly, a variety of data have produced as an effective decision support tool in the provision of ecosystem services approach and protection-utilization balance of the basin. Finally, primary, secondary and tertiary conservation areas will be determined in the light of the topography of the basin, geological structure, land use situation, vegetation diversity etc. The study will be tried to integrate the euclidean distance measurement system and unique features of the region to create sustainable drinking water basin conservation process.