Characterization of Groundwater Contamination in the North Lebanese Aquifer

Abstract

Water is abundant on the earth’s surface and underground. There is only 1% available to meet the needs of the population. Many groundwater resources’ water quality has been impacted by water quality destruction and damage caused by river pollution. The North Lebanese Miocene Aquifer affected due to Karst topography by Kadisha-Abou Ali in North Lebanon is evaluated in this study. The river flows west, eventually reaching the Mediterranean Sea, and its basins well known for its limestone formations. Human agglomeration and activities (primarily industrial) are concentrated on the riverbanks of the Kadisha-Abou Ali watershed. Thereby the study aimed at assessing the groundwater from samples taken from the source of the river towards the sea to analyze the impact of pollution with population growth on the lower banks of the river, etc.… Thus, measuring the chemical, and physical parameters of all the tested samples, this study will determine the groundwater quality of the Miocene aquifer in northern Lebanon. The results of the sampled locations revealed a polluted pattern that was affected either rural activities such as olive culture in the northern part or suburban-related activities in the region of Tripoli at the bottom of the aquifer. Thus, a variety of factors have affected the fractured limestone aquifer, some of the factors included seawater intrusion, uncontrolled use of pesticides, and the overgrowth of the population. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.