Spring Water Qualitative Assessment in Mountainous Areas, Case Study: Soreq Catchment/Ramallah/West Bank

Hassan Jebreen, Marwan Ghanem^*

Birzeit University, Ramallah, Palestine.

DOI: 10.4236/jwarp.2015.711069                

Abstract

The hydrochemical characteristics of spring waters in the Soreq-Catchment were determined to identify pollutants in the springs. The ion concentrations were within the allowable WHO limits except two springs located within the center of the populated areas. The water of most of the springs is contaminated with fecal coliform and total coliform. The concentration of nitrate shows moderate values below the WHO limits. The springs in the study area show higher concentrations of heavy metals (Zn, Cd, Mn, As, Co, Cu, Ni, Pb, Al, Fe, and V) exceeding the permissible standards set by WHO (2007). Most springs in the study area are of water type (Ca-Mg-HCO₃^-). Piper’s classification ranges from normal earth alkaline water with prevailing bicarbonate and chloride in both seasons. Comparing the quality of spring water with standards for different uses proved that some springs are unsuitable for human drinking purposes.

Keywords

Hydrochemistry, Soreq, West Bank, Spring Water

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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