Hydro-Geochemistry and Application of Water Quality Index (WQI) for Ground Water Quality Assessment, Wadi Al-Samen—Hebron—West Bank

Abstract

Located south of the West Bank, Wadi Al-Samen is considered one of the most important sources of groundwater recharge for the eastern aquifer in Hebron. It is polluted by sewage originating from domestic and industrial consumption in the Hebron area. Water quality assessment is an important criterion for achieving sustainable development. To evaluate water quality, twenty samples were collected from groundwater sources for two seasons and were analyzed for Physical properties (Total dissolved solids (TDS), Electrical conductivity (EC), potential hydrogen (pH), Temperature (T)), Four major cations (Mg2+, Ca2+, Na+ and K+), and the Major anions (HCO-3, Cl-, and SO2-4); geochemical methods such as Piper scheme were used for the sample result analysis. To characterize wastewater components, six samples were collected from the Wadi discharge for two seasons and were analyzed (potential hydrogen (pH), Electrical Conductivity (EC), Total Dissolved Solid (TDS), Total Suspended Solids (TDS), Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD5), and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD). The results of nitrate levels showed that 20% of the ground water samples exceeded the standard limit of the World Health Organization (WHO). The quality of drinking water was assessed using the Water Quality Index (WQI), which suggests that 10% of samples are classified from poor to very poor. The abundance of cations from highest to lowest was found to be: Ca; Mg; Na, and for the anions it is HCO3; Cl; SO4. The dominant hydrochemical facies of 35% of collected aquifer samples reveal that Ca-Mg-Na-Cl-HCO3 are in the domain. Evaluation of irrigation suitability was performed using parameters of Sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), electric conductivity (EC), and Salinity. The results in both rounds for EC showed that all water sources are suitable for irrigation according to Todd’s classification. SAR was not suitable in three water resources samples. Wilcox analysis for the two seasons revealed that 85% of samples are not appropriate for irrigation uses.