The Eocene aquifer is one of the major groundwater aquifers in Palestine. It is located in the northeastern part of the West Bank covering areas of both Jenin and Nablus districts. The development of the groundwater within the Eocene aquifer is very essential for the Palestinian water supply. This paper simulates for groundwater flow in the Eocene aquifer using MODFLOW as a strong available groundwater model. The groundwater budget, flow computation, and flow path-lines were estimated and calibrated. Groundwater balance has been evaluated. The Modeling results show that a minimum initial level of 340 m above sea level should be applied to model the hydraulics of the aquifer correctly. The recharge and hydraulic conductivity are the most sensitive model parameters. The hydraulic conductivity in some areas has proved to be double than assumed by other literatures. More reasonable recharge coefficients in comparison to other literatures have been obtained. Groundwater balance indicated that the water budget of the Eocene aquifer totals about 72 MCM/yr. The modeling has indicated reasonable matching between the observed and modeled groundwater levels and spring flows. The flow direction within the aquifer is from the south to north and northeast. The Faria spring system located to the southeast is the major sink within the aquifer. It attracts most of the particle tracking lines due to its high discharge rates. It is recommended to monitor the existing wells and springs permanently. It is also recommended to assess the effect of the faults and fractures on the hydraulic conductivity.
This research work intended to study the impacts of irrigation water containing various levels of copper, lead, and zinc on adsorption capacity of soil packed in 4[1][1] plastic columns and obtained from two locations around the city of Nablus: Salem (A) and Deir Sharaf (B). Results of simulation experiments showed an increase in the copper, lead, and zinc concentrations in soil and in leachate with increasing the amount of metal in irrigation water. Copper, lead, and zinc concentrations increased also with soil depth and duration of application. The results also indicate that the self purification of both soils was highly affected by physical factors, i.e. the intermittent application of irrigation water to the soils in the columns caused soil wetting and drying cycles which resulted in the formation of cracks in shrinked soils specially in the top half of the columns. Crack formation is common in such clay soils due to the climatic conditions (Mediterranean type: dry summers and wet winters) and type of clay minerals in the soil. Thus, short circuiting of water through cracks results in moving contaminants fast and deep in the soil profile.
The Eocene aquifer is one of the major groundwater aquifers in Palestine. It is located in the northeastern part of the West Bank covering areas of both Jenin and Nablus districts. The development of the groundwater within the Eocene aquifer is very essential for the Palestinian water supply. This paper simulates for groundwater flow in the Eocene aquifer using MODFLOW as a strong available groundwater model. The groundwater budget, flow computation, and flow path-lines were estimated and calibrated. Groundwater balance has been evaluated. The Modeling results show that a minimum initial level of 340 m above sea level should be applied to model the hydraulics of the aquifer correctly. The recharge and hydraulic conductivity are the most sensitive model parameters. The hydraulic conductivity in some areas has proved to be double than assumed by other literatures. More reasonable recharge coefficients in comparison to other literatures have been obtained. Groundwater balance indicated that the water budget of the Eocene aquifer totals about 72 MCM/yr. The modeling has indicated reasonable matching between the observed and modeled groundwater levels and spring flows. The flow direction within the aquifer is from the south to north and northeast. The Faria spring system located to the southeast is the major sink within the aquifer. It attracts most of the particle tracking lines due to its high discharge rates. It is recommended to monitor the existing wells and springs permanently. It is also recommended to assess the effect of the faults and fractures on the hydraulic conductivity.
This research work intended to study the impacts of irrigation water containing various levels of copper, lead, and zinc on adsorption capacity of soil packed in 4′′ plastic columns and obtained from two locations around the city of Nablus: Salem (A) and Deir Sharaf (B). Results of simulation experiments showed an increase in the copper, lead, and zinc concentrations in soil and in leachate with increasing the amount of metal in irrigation water. Copper, lead, and zinc concentrations increased also with soil depth and duration of application. The results also indicate that the self purification of both soils was highly affected by physical factors, i.e. the intermittent application of irrigation water to the soils in the columns caused soil wetting and drying cycles whichresulted in the formation of cracks in shrinked soils specially in the top half of the columns. Crack formation is common in such clay soils due to the climatic conditions (Mediterranean type: dry summers and wet winters) and type of clay minerals in the soil. Thus, short circuiting of water through cracks results in moving contaminants fast and deep in the soil profile.
This research work intended to study the impacts of irrigation water containing various levels of copper, lead, and zinc on adsorption capacity of soil packed in 4[1][1] plastic columns and obtained from two locations around the city of Nablus: Salem (A) and Deir Sharaf (B). Results of simulation experiments showed an increase in the copper, lead, and zinc concentrations in soil and in leachate with increasing the amount of metal in irrigation water. Copper, lead, and zinc concentrations increased also with soil depth and duration of application. The results also indicate that the self purification of both soils was highly affected by physical factors, i.e. the intermittent application of irrigation water to the soils in the columns caused soil wetting and drying cycles which resulted in the formation of cracks in shrinked soils specially in the top half of the columns. Crack formation is common in such clay soils due to the climatic conditions (Mediterranean type: dry summers and wet winters) and type of clay minerals in the soil. Thus, short circuiting of water through cracks results in moving contaminants fast and deep in the soil profile.
Groundwater is the major source of water to the Palestinians. Efficient management of this resource requires a good understanding of its status. This understanding necessitates a characterization of the quality of the utilizable volumes. This paper focuses on the assessment of nitrate concentrations in the aquifers of the West Bank, Palestine. A preliminary statistical analysis is carried out for the spatial and temporal distributions of the nitrate concentrations. GIS is utilized to facilitate the analysis and to efficiently account for the spatiality of nitrate concentrations. The analysis was carried out at different spatial levels and key parameters including soil type, watersheds, depth, population, and rainfall. It is observed that elevated nitrate concentrations in the groundwater greatly coincide with increasing rainfall, particularly in the last few years. Results confirm that the annual mean nitrate concentration in the Western groundwater basin has an increasing trend over the period from 1982 to 2004 indicating its vulnerability to contamination. This result can be attributed to the agricultural activities along with the high groundwater recharge. However, leaking septic and sewer systems are considerably causing nitrate contamination of groundwater in populated areas. Overall, the recommendations call for an immediate intervention to manage the quality problems in the West Bank aquifers.
In this paper, lumped-parameter models (LPMs) were developed and utilized to simulate nitrate concentration in the groundwater of Gaza City and Jabalia Camp (GCJC) in the Gaza Coastal Aquifer (GCA) in Palestine. In the GCJC area, nitrate levels exceed the maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 10 mg/L NO3-N (45 mg/L NO3) in many wells. Elevated nitrate concentrations in the groundwater of GCJC area are due to the disposal of untreated wastewater, the existence of heavy agriculture in the surrounding areas, and the use of cesspits for wastewater disposal. The developed LPMs utilize monthly time steps and take into consideration all the sources and sinks of water and nitrate in the study area. The main outcomes of the LPMs are the average temporal water table elevation and nitrate concentration. In order to demonstrate LPMs usability, a set of management options to reduce nitrate concentration in the groundwater of the study area were proposed and evaluated using the developed LPMs. Four broad management options were considered where these options tackle the reduction of nitrate concentration in the lateral inflow, rehabilitation of the wastewater collection system, reduction in cesspit usage, and the restriction on the use of nitrogen-based fertilizers. In addition, management options that encompass different combinations of the single management options were taken into account. Different scenarios that correspond to the different management options were investigated. It was found based on the LPMs that individual management options were not effective in meeting the MCL of nitrate. However, the combination of the four single management options with full rehabilitation and coverage of the wastewater collection network along with at least 60% reduction in both nitrate concentration in the lateral inflow and the use of nitrogen-based fertilizers would meet the MCL constraint by the end of the management period.