Modeling Nitrate Contamination of the Eocene Aquifer, Palestine

Abstract

The Eocene Aquifer is one important aquifer in the northern West Bank. Recent measurements have indicated an increasing trend in the nitrate contamination in several monitoring wells of this aquifer. The continuing nitrate pollution of the aquifer without implementing protection measures will lead to a poor water quality. This research focuses on developing a nitrate fate and transport model for the Eocene Aquifer using MODFLOW and MT3D. The development of the MT3D model started by identifying the different sources of nitrogen in the aquifer, then both models was compiled to develop the model. The nitrate fate and transport model simulated the spatial distribution of nitrate concentration in the aquifer under the current conditions. The calculations indicated excessive nitrogen-based fertilizing rates and thus considerable nitrate leaching into the aquifer. Other responsible sources for the elevated concentrations are attributed to the use of cesspits for wastewater disposal. Features of a groundwater quality monitoring system of the Eocene Aquifer have been developed. Sensitivity analysis indicated a high influence of decay rate and the mass of nitrate leaching on nitrate concentrations.

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GIS-BASED MODELING OF GROUNDWATER RECHARGE FOR THE WEST BANK

Abstract

Groundwater is the major source of water for the Palestinians. Efficient management of this resource requires a good understanding of its status. This understanding necessitates a characterization of the utilizable quantities and the corresponding qualities. This thesis focuses on the quantification of groundwater recharge for the entire West Bank and for each aquifer using the Soil Moisture Deficit (SMD) method. The SMD method is the most applicable method for recharge estimation under arid and semi-arid conditions. ModelBuilder of GIS was utilized to facilitate the recharge quantification and to efficiently account for the spatiality inherent in recharge. Results confirm that the highest recharge occurs in the North-West of the West Bank and the lowest in the South-East. The long term average recharge for the entire West Bank was calculated based on the available historical records that start from 1975 to 1997. The results of the recharge for the entire West Bank equals 610 mcm. And the total annual recharge for the entire West Bank is 852 mcm for the year 2004. Overall, the recommendations call for an immediate intervention to study scenario analysis such as climatic change and its impact is required to predict the recharge behavior in the future to get effective groundwater modeling and management.

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Natural Runoff and Development of Infiltration System in Faria Catchment

Abstract

This study suggests proper management of the runoff water in Faria catchment and how to capture the excess rain during the rainy season. The study has been performed in the frame of EXACT project to develop an integrated prediction-optimization model for water harvesting, storage and utilization in Faria catchment.

An integrative study of the methods for rainfall-runoff simulation has been performed. The modeling of the runoff is based here on a presumed strong causal relationship between runoff and rainfall as the only available input data. Hydrometeorigical data such as annual total, annual daily rainfalls and catchment outlet runoff for several events were analyzed through statistical methods and applying EXCEL and GIS program utilities. A regression relation between rainfall intensity and runoff coefficient has been developed. Earth fill dam is proposed to return the surface runoff.

Volume quantification, site selection and design criteria of the earth fill dam were developed and identified. Further hydrograph simulation and routing of the flow were done.

The development of the suggested infiltration system to recharge the groundwater resources by constructing the earth retention dam at the selected site in Upper Faria catchment is seen as an important requirement for the development of the water resources in the area.

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Assessment of Household Hazardous Waste Management: A Comparative Study between Nablus City and its Refugee Camps

This thesis is about the “Assessment of Household Hazardous Waste Management: A comparative Study Between Nablus City and its Refugee Camps” and aims studying household hazardous waste (HHW) to determine the type and the quantity of hazardous materials most commonly used at homes, the level of awareness of household heads concerning the disposal of these substances, the extent of hazardous substance-related accidents and injuries occurring at homes. It also suggests an integrated management plan for HHW taking into consideration different engineering measures for managing the HHW from the point of generation to final disposal. Literature was collected and analyzed to identify the extent of the problem and its related issues. The questionnaire was distributed among 1300 households and a solid waste generation analysis was carried out during a 15 working days period with sorting 150 samples of 23 tons of municipality solid waste at Nablus solid waste transfer station. HHW concentrations of 2.89% and 1.88% were detected in the Nablus city and its refugee camps respectively in proportion to the family income. Findings indicate that home products and personal care products most commonly consumed hazardous substances at homes and 17.9% of the study households have injuries, poisons and burns from accidents resulted from the use of these substances. The study also found that the level of households' awareness of hazardous substances is generally low and is in need of continuous improvement. The results lead to many recommendations: a proposed management system for HHW management is needed that would help the Palestinian health to enhance and develop health and environmental services. A management system, including new approach for storage, collection, separation, transportation, treatment and disposal of HHW was proposed. This system will deal with at least 1600 tons/year of HHW in Nablus city and its refugee camps.

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Integrated Water Resources Planning for A water-Stressed Basin in Palestine

In Palestine, failure to account for long-term scenarios of water availability is a concern given the potential for severe drought and the continuing misallocation of water rights and water distributions as well as the lack of policies to support integrated water resources management. Analysis to assess how to design future water resources, facilities, and management scenarios based on future measures and management practices as well as rainfall patterns for Palestine are investigated. This research focuses on building an IWRM model for Al Far'a catchment using WEAP program. After collecting all the required data and studying the existing situation, different scenarios are suggested here. Population growth was taken in to account in this work. The burgeoning population growth in Palestine is crucial to integrated water resources planning and management and is expected to increase the stresses on the already scarce water resources. The last step was calibrating the model to get the best fit model and better accuracy. Projection of these data into the future was approximated through many strenuous built-in relationships in WEAP model to assess the future water states. Thus, annual, and decadal future water availability is projected, characterized, and examined to support efficient and effective scenarios to sustain water resources management. This analysis of scenarios assessment and best management practices evaluation is performed for Al-Far'a watershed. Wherein, integrated water resource planning models that can simultaneously aggregate and process hydrologic and management elements are of paramount importance to aid decision planners evaluate the tradeoffs and priorities under different hydrologic realities and management objectives. The utility of the analysis to highlight the need for alternative water supplies; to quantify groundwater recharge; to evaluate water conservation and fair water allocation policies; and to provide guidelines for future non-traditional water supply projects are also presented and discussed.

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Impact of Pumping on Saltwater Intrusion in Gaza Coastal Aquifer, Palestine

Gaza Coastal Aquifer (GCA) is the major source of water in Gaza Strip. Recent studies show noticeable deterioration in the water quality; where chloride, nitrate, sulfate, and fluoride concentrations are exceeding the maximum contaminant levels in most of the wells in Gaza Strip. Many agricultural wells are no longer used due to the high salinity. This high salinity is an indication of a phenomenon called saltwater intrusion which appears mainly in coastal aquifers due to the excessive pumping. This study is an attempt to find out the impact of pumping on the hydraulic head at the coastline of Gaza Strip. To do so, a groundwater flow model was developed for GCA using MODFLOW-2000 based on data from the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA). The model was calibrated based on head observations obtained form PWA and contour maps from literature. The calibrated model was used to simulate the effects of pumping, recharge, and injection on water table elevation. The results show that GCA is sensitive to the above mentioned parameters. Pumping has a great impact on water table elevations. A small decrease in total pumping (pumping from all of the wells) results in a noticeable decline in the areas that have water table elevations below mean sea level (MSL), which is in essence an indication of saltwater intrusion. Similar results were found when decreasing municipal and agricultural pumping. Two potential solutions were simulated; reduction in pumping and the injection of water through wells. These two options eliminated the problem of saltwater intrusion. However, a thorough future analysis should include an economic feasibility study.

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An Assessment of the Nitrate and Chloride in the West Bank Groundwater Resources Using GIS

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 utilizable quantities and the corresponding qualities. The research focuses on the long-term degradation of water quality in the West Bank aquifers. A statistical analysis is carried out for the spatial and temporal distributions of the nitrate and chloride concentrations. GIS technology is utilized to facilitate the analysis and to efficiently account for the spatiality inherent in water resources parameters. Results confirm that the nitrate concentration across the West Bank aquifers has an increasing trend after the year 1985. As for chloride, the wells of the Jordan Valley have the highest concentrations. Overall, the recommendations call for an immediate intervention to solve the quality problems in the West Bank aquifers.

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