Water Security in the Middle East by Jean Cahan

Author:Jean Cahan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: National Book Network International
Published: 2017-03-18T04:00:00+00:00

Pollution Sources

The most problematic source of pollution in the Besor–Hebron–Be’er Sheva watershed is untreated domestic and industrial wastewater released in the upper catchment in and around the city of Hebron. This region is known for three main industries that all produce problematic wastewater: stonecutting, leather tanning and olive oil production. Due to the serious lack of sufficient wastewater treatment infrastructure, these industrial wastewater streams drain into the Hebron drainage, contributing significantly to its degradation. Currently 22,730–25,150 m3/day of wastewater is generated in the city of Hebron. Most of this is not treated and eventually ends up in the Besor–Hebron–Be’er Sheva watershed (Al-Zeer and Al-Khatib 2008).

Other industrial areas are found in the central part of the basin, particularly near Be’er Sheva and at the industrial complex of Ramat Hovav. Industrial areas in the center of the basin tend to be located along streams and may be potential sources of pollution to the surface water. Groundwater is less vulnerable in the center of the basin because the depth to groundwater is greater than in recharge areas, and a thick alluvial unit covers the bedrock and is an unconfined aquifer in some areas. Soils are also less permeable. Groundwater recharge areas in the southeast do not spatially overlap identified pollution sources.

Wastewater treatment methods for Jewish Israeli communities in Israel and in the West Bank were tabulated by the Israel Water Authority in 2006 and 2007. The main population center of Be’er Sheva and some nearby communities are serviced by the Mekorot water company’s Be’er Sheva Wastewater Treatment facility, which treats 14.4 million cubic meters of wastewater per year (Mekorot 2014). Other regional wastewater treatment facilities serve additional communities. Less populous Jewish Israeli communities use cesspits, settlement ponds or oxidation ponds. Settlement ponds and oxidation ponds are considered primary or secondary levels of treatment and can be slow and inefficient. In settlement ponds solids are allowed to settle out of the wastewater, and in oxidation ponds algae growth produces oxygen to fuel the breakdown of organic material by microorganisms. Cesspits are used to collect and store wastewater underground. In a porous cesspit, liquid waste percolates into the subsurface. The remaining solid waste needs to be cleaned out periodically. In a tight cesspit, a watertight liner is utilized to prevent infiltration, but emptying is required more often.

More than 80 percent of Hebron is connected to sewer pipes, but the raw domestic wastewater collected in these pipes is discharged directly into the Hebron drainage south of the urban area (Hareuveni 2009). The Jewish Israeli community of Kiryat Arba, which is adjacent to Hebron, also discharges wastewater without treatment. Less populous Palestinian communities in the West Bank primarily use cesspits for wastewater treatment (House of Water and Environment (HWE) 2014, unpublished report), most of which are porous (according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) 2014), which means that leakage of untreated wastewater into the groundwater is common. Arafeh (2012) reports the use of household septic tanks in Yatta, Bani Na’im, Dura, As Samu and Ar Rihiya.

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