Waste Water Disposal of Kizildere Geothermal Power Plant: Impact on Great Menderes River Water Quality

Abstract

Kizildere Geothermal Power Plant (KGPP) was installed in 1984 with an installed capacity of 20.4 MWe. It is a single flash design with an average 11.5% steam ratio. The waste fluid from the separators which is 88.5% of the total flowrate, is treated in three ways: some part of the fluid is used for district heating system of a town nearby, a small fraction of the fluid is injected back to the reservoir and the rest is discharged to the Great Menderes River through a 1.8-km long channel.
The Great Menderes River Basin has populated farmland and rapidly developing urban and suburban areas. Its agriculture and industrial sectors are highly developed. In this study, the impact of KGPP waste water discharge into the Great Menderes River is studied. Water samples are collected from 20 sampling locations once a month including separator exit of nine production wells, waste water channels and the River for one year. The samples are analyzed and evaluated to determine the contribution of KGPP into the River water pollution.