Water quality assessment for Al-Bared river

Abstract

Water pollution occurs when contaminants damage water sources, leaving them unsafe for drinking, cooking, cleaning, swimming, and other usages. Pollutants include chemicals, different types of waste, and bacteria. Nahr al-Bared is a river in Northern Lebanon that is supplied by multiple springs at an elevation of 1180 meters and with a length of over 31 kilometers. This research study serves the purpose of identifying the quality of water for Nahr Al-Bared, North Lebanon. Several characteristics have been studied to identify physical, chemical, and microbiological contaminations in Al-Bared River, Northern Lebanon. This was done during the wet season found between the end of March and the beginning of April to assess the environmental state and the valid usage of the river’s water. Surface water analysis was conducted during the month of April after taking different samples from 8 different sampling points along the river, stretching from the highest altitude point at El-Sukkar spring, Denniyeh, until reaching the estuary at the lowest point with the Mediterranean Sea. The water samples were tested for parameters such as PH, TDS, Nitrate, Potassium, Escherichia coli, Fecal coliforms, etc. The obtained results for all the physical and chemical characteristics were determined to be within the permitted limit provided by the Lebanese decree 52/1, Libnor and WHO guidelines which were implemented in our study. Microbiological parameters, on the other hand, were found to be above the allowable limit for all the tested water samples. The results for the microbiological parameters indicate that the water is contaminated, and this contamination is most likely due to untreated wastewater discharge into the river’s stream. Subsequently, the values of physical-chemical parameters have contradicting outputs with the microbiological ones which can be related to the different types of pollution found in the river.