Are there Monthly Variations in Water Quality in the Amman, Zarqa and Balqa Regions, Jordan?

doi:10.4236/cweee.2013.22B005

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Computational Water, Energy, and Environmental Engineering, 2013, 2, 26-35

doi:10.4236/cweee.2013.22B005 Published Online April 2013 (http://www.scirp.org/journal/cweee)

Are there Monthly Variations in Water Quality in the

Amman, Zarqa and Balqa R egions, Jordan?

Khaled A. Alqadi*, Lalit Kumar

Ecosystem Management, School of En vi ronment al and Rur al Science, Faculty of Arts and Sciences,

University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia

Email: *[email protected]

Received 2013

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the monthly variation of water quality in the Amman-Zarqa and Balqa regions in Jordan in

terms of pH, ammonium, nitrate and conductivity. During 2004 there was no monthly variation in water quality for

most of the tested parameters. All readings were above the accepted range except for pH, indicating that land use does

have an impact on water quality irrespective of urban, industrial or agricultural usage. The water quality remained for

the most part below the maximum levels for drinking standards in Jordan, but these standards are often below the WHO

recommendations. The pH was found to fluctuate through the year. Nitrate levels were highly seasonal in irrigated lands

but remained stable over basin covered by other land uses. Ammonium levels were high in areas of urbanisation and

intensive animal husbandry as a consequence of effluent infiltration, peaking during the wet season due to increased

infiltration. These results indicate that, over an annual cycle, the variation in water quality remains constant; however

the continued dra wdo wn of th e a quifer system will inevitabl y lead to dete r ioration in the parameters investigated.

Keywords: Water Quality; pH; Ammonium; Conduct ivity; Nitrate

1. Introduction

The water crisis in Jordan is a major geopolitical issue

that threatens the future and stability of the whole coun-

try. The Amman, Zarqa and Balqa regions supply irriga-

tion water to an estimated 33,000 Ha, however, most of

demand is for do mestic and industrial water with the ba-

sin supplying over half of the population of Jordan with

water [3]. Agricultural production in the basin is domi-

nated by grazing, with only limited olive and fruit trees

and the production of cereals near areas of permanent

water.

Ground water quality has a major impact on human

welfare and affects all human activity [7]. Understanding

changes in ground water quality allows for effective

management of water resources in the face of increasing

pressures from urbanization, agricultural and industrial

development [15]. However, Jordan is faced with a lack

of funding to maintain monitoring which has resulted in

fragmented data sets [13]. The utilisation of aquifers has

led to severe lowering of the ground water table and this

has changed the ground water chemistry [10]. The Am-

man, Zarqa and Balqa regions is renewable and draws

water from areas of urban and industrial development

and landfill sites and therefore is at significant risk of

waste water infiltration pollution [1].

Data from 2002 indicates that there was an unsustain-

able drawdown of ground water from the Amman-Zarqa

Basin. In 2002 a total of 84 mcm year-1 was withdrawn

from the aquifer for municipal supply, while 54 mcm

year-1 was taken to supply the agricultural sector. This

represents an excess of 72 mcm year-1 of water above the

estimated safe yield of 65 mcm year-1. This overdrawing

from the 772 officiall y register ed wells has led to a fall in

the ground water table and declines in water quality [13].

Salameh [19] argued that the current drawdown of the

aquifers has led to permanent damage of the hydrological

system, and Al-Mahamid [4] argued that at current ex-

traction rates areas in the middle of the basin will be

completely dry in the next few decades. These findings

were supported by Dottrige and Jaber [8] who argued

that at current levels of extraction many of the aquifers

dependent upon for urban and industrial supply will be

dry by the middle of the t wenty first century. The aim of

this paper is to examine the water quality over an annual

cycle in the Amman, Zarqa and Balqa regions under dif-

fering land use.

2. Hydrogeology of the Amman-Zarqa

Basin

The geology of the Amman-Zarqa Basin is primarily

*Corresponding author.

K. A. Al q a d i ET AL.

sedimentary with ages ranging from the lower Creta-

ceous to the present (Table 1 ). The major aquifers i n the

Amma n-Zarqa Basin from which water is drawn are con-

sidered to be hydraulically connected, but maybe sepa-

rated in regions by geological layers which act as aquic-

ludes [9].

There are three aquifer systems in the Amman-Zarqa

Basin. There is evidence that water moves between the

aquifers along the Zarqa fault system [4]. The upper

aquifer is contained within the linked Campanian Am-

man (B2) and Turonian Wadi Sir (A7) limestone forma-

tions and the neighbouring basalt strata (V). The middle

aquifer is contained within the Cenomanian Shue mar

(A4) limestone formation. T he lo wer aquifer is contained

within the Albian-Aptian Kurnub (K) sandstone forma-

tion. Ta ble 2 provides an overview of the hydrology and

hydrochemistry of the three aquifers. The long term ef-

fects of drawdown has resulted in declines in the water

table in all aquifers contained within the basin and this

has led to an increase in the level of dissolved chemicals

Table 1. The geology and hydrogeology classification of the Am-

man-Zarqa B as in [18].

Table 2. The average hydrological and hydrochemical data for the

three major aquifers in the Amman-Zarqa Basin for the period

1995-2003 [4].

that are naturally occurring as a consequence of the sur-

rounding geological formations of each aquifer [4]. As a

consequence of the geological formations in which the

aquifers are contained, calcium and magnesium are the

dominant cations, while bicarbonate is the dominant

anion [6].

The rainfall over the Amman-Zarqa Basin is highly

seasonal. Peak rainfall occurs during late autumn to earl y

spring with summer receiving negligible to no rainfall

reflected in the annual runoff (Figure 1). The annual

depth of rainfall over the basin is variable, ranging from

50 mm in the east to 1000 mm in the west; however the

total annual rainfall for the region has declined over the

last three decades by 25 - 33 mm [4]. This has an impact

on the total runoff potential and the water available for

recharging of the aquifers within the basin. During the

period of rainfall the B2/A7 aquifer is subjected to infil-

tration which then enters the connected A4 aquifer

through fracture zones as the water flows north easterly

down the Amman-Zarqa sincline [6].

3. Description of Study Area

The Amman, Zarqa and Balqa regions cover an area of

1939 km2 and are located in north eastern Jordan uplands

and are between 500 ‒ 1000m in elevation with an an-

nual precipitation of 150 to 600 mm year-1 [13,17]. Fig-

ure 2 illustrates the study area and location of the study

area within Jordan. The basin contains significant popu-

lation and industrial production centres. Agriculture is

primarily restricted to plains of the water courses with

rangelands dominating the remainder. The sporadic dis-

tribution of population and industry, as well as the re-

striction of agriculture to the water courses has been that

the spatial quality of the ground water is highly variable

with aquifer systems [5].

Figure 1. The monthly long-term rainfall average of the Amman-

Zarqa Basin for the period 1970-2002.

K. A. Al q a d i ET AL.

Figure 2. The location of the Amman, Zarqa and Balqa regions and the location of the wells investigated in this study.

4. Method s

The use of ge ogr aphic info r matio n syste ms ha s p rove n to

be an effective means of investigating spatial changes in

water quality [7,15]. The spatial data support system, Arc

View GIS, provides the tools to allo w the seasonal map-

ping of temporal changes in water quality parameters

[16]. The use of mapping systems in conjunction with

aerial images allows for a greater understanding of the

potential i mpacts of land use on water quality.

Historical data for wells in the Amman, Zarqa and

Balqa regions were obtained from the Jordan Water Au-

thority. Fro m these historic al reco rd s on the water qualit y,

11 wells from the three regions representing each of the

three major aquifers, and with significantly detailed

monthly data for 2004, were selected for investigation

(Table 3). From the records of these 11 wells the

monthly recorded conductivity, ammonium, nitrate and

pH were graphed to determine if seasonal variation in

water quality parameters could be determined. A map of

the Amman-Zarqa Basin was digitised using Arc Map

9.3 and the location of the 11 wells plotted. Rainfall data

for the area surrounding the wells in 2004 was also

mapped. The depth of the wells was also investigated to

determine the geological formation that contained and

surrounded the wells, and this enabled an understanding

of the influence of the surrounding strata on the quality

of the water contained in t he a quifer.

5. Resul ts

The wells represent areas of five primary land uses. The

well AL1230 is located in an area of heavy industrial use

Table 3. Identification, location and land use of the wells and sur-

rounding area s used in thi s study.

on the edge of a water course. The three wells AL1192,

AL1898 and AL1899 are surrounded by residential areas;

however there is a chicken farm nearby. The wells

AL1254 and AL2715 are located on a small irrigation

plain with a central water course surrounded by arid

lands, while AL3505 is located in the nearby arid land.

The three wells AL1318, AL1319 and AL2691 are all in

light industrial with neighboring residential area, and are

located near a water course, with AL1318 and AL1319

located in and around waste water treatment works. Fig-

ure 3 illustrates the aerial view of the wells and their

surrounds.

This investigation also indicates that in areas of low

development represented by AL 3505 and AL3506, there

was a low level of nitrate contamination. These two wells

draw water from the middle and lower aquifer systems

K. A. Al q a d i ET AL.

indicating that there is a natural tendency for low nitrate

levels from this supply in underdeveloped areas. One

well, AL125 4 had a high nitra te indicting in filtration and

may represent the use of nitrate fertilisers on the irrigated

plains on which the well was located. This infiltration

diffus ed thr oug h the aq ui fers to which it is connected and

the well nitrate le vel returned to that of all the study ar ea

for the upper and middle systems. The results also indi-

cate that, while there is a peak in the pH of the wells in

late spring and summer, however, there is little change

throughout the year, with all wells having a pH between

7 to 8. The ammonium level was only significa ntly raise d

in the residen tia l a reas, wit h all industrial and agricultural

wells demo nstr at i n g an an nua l l o w am mo ni u m le ve l. T he

ammonium level in the residential areas peaked during

the onset of the rains, indicating that there is a possible

flushing of sewerage down into the water table from the

individual dwellings septic systems and the nearby

chicke n far m. The peak in cond uctivi ty dur ing the p eriod

of peak rainfall indicates that the infiltration of water

through the geological strata is carrying dissolved salts

into the aquifers.

Figure 3. Land use images showing surrounding areas of each well (from Google Earth, 2004).

K. A. Al q a d i ET AL.

5.1. pH

At present there is no considered risk to consumers from

water pH levels, and therefore, no safe health guidelines

[15]. However, the pH has significant impact on the op-

erational water q uality parameters with the Wo rld Health

Organisation (WHO, 2004) recommending an optimum

range of 6.5 - 9.5. The Jordan Water Standard indicates

that the permissible pH range is 6.5 - 85 for drinking

water [4,11]. The maximum and minimum pH for the 11

wells in the Amman, Zarqa and Balqa regions investi-

gated ranged from 6.84 to 8.06, respectively. This study

determined that no well fell outside the operation water

parameters of the WHO. Figure 4 illustrate s the pH on a

monthly basis for each of the wells investigated. The

results indicate that there was a variation in t he p H of t he

wells throughout the year of ~1.2 to ~0.63. Table 4 illu-

strates the maximum and minimum pH for each well and

the month in which that level was reached. There is clear

indication that water pH reaches a maximum during late

spring to summer in all wells and with minimums

reached in autumn, winter and early spring depending on

the well.

Table 4. The pH for the maximal and minimal months and the

percentage change over the period for the 11 wells.

Figure 4. The pH records fo r ea ch well in 2004.

K. A. Al q a d i ET AL.

5.2. Nitr at e

High nitrate levels can have significant negative health

consequences [11]. The WHO guidelines indicate a

maximum nitrate level of 50 mgL-1 for drinking water;

however while the authorities in Jordan recognize a per-

missible target level of 50 mgL-1, the national standards

allow for a concentration of up to 70 mgL-1, [4]. The

maximum and minimu m nitrate levels for the 11 wells in

the Am ma n, Zar q a a nd B a lq a regio ns inve st i gat ed r ange d

from <0.16 mgL-1 to 75.88 mgL-1, respectively. The re-

sults of the investi gation int o t he 11 wells found that o nly

two of the wells (AL3505, AL3506) did not have year

round dangerous nitrate levels making the water fit for

consumption in WHO terms, with one other well (AL1318)

being safe for only one month. However, the Jordan

maximum permissible level for nitrate was only exceeded

significantly in areas of irrigation (AL1254). Notwith-

standing, the urban areas also contain significantly high

levels of nitrates in the immediate wells. Figure 5 illu-

strates the nitra te le vel on a monthl y ba sis for e ach o f the

wells investigated. The results indicate that there was a

variation in the nitrate within each well throughout the

year of ~ 6 mgL-1 to ~ 50 mgL-1. Table 5 highlights the

nitra te varia tion t hro ugho ut t h e year for each of the wells

investigated. These results indicate significant variation

in nitrate concentration in each well on a monthly basis

with no specific seasonal variation evidenced.

Table 5. The Nitrate concentration (mgL-1) for the maximal and

minimal months and the percentage change over the period for

each of the 11 wells.

Figure 5. The Nitrate (mgL-1) records for each well in 200 4.

K. A. Al q a d i ET AL.

5.3. Ammonium

The maximum and minimum ammonium (NH4) levels

for the 11 wells in the Amman, Zarqa and Balqa regions

investigated ranged from < 0.05 mgL-1 to 4.2 mgL-1 re-

spectively. Figure 6 illustrates the ammonium levels on a

monthly basis for each of the wells investigated. The

results indicate that there was a variation in the ammo-

nium level within any one well throughout the year of

~0.05 mgL-1 to 3.41 mgL-1. Table 6 highlights the am-

monium variation throughout the year for each of the

wells investigated. These results indicate that only three

wells (AL1192, AL1898, and AL1899) showed signifi-

cant variation in nitrate concentration with all the other

wells having an ammonium level of below ~0.1 mgL-1

throughout the year. Ammonium levels tended to rise

towards the end of each year with the first months show-

ing the lowest concentrations; however, the three wells

with significantly higher ammonium levels (AL1192,

AL1898, AL1899) showed the reverse with higher con-

centration during the firs t three months of the year.

Table 6. The Ammonium (NH4 mgL-1) f or t he ma x i ma l a nd mi n im-

al months and the percentage cha nge over the period.

*Pa r tial re sult with data f rom s ome months unavailable.

Figu re 6. The amm o n ium (NH 4 mgL-1) records for each well in 2004 with infer red data show n as a dotted line.

K. A. Al q a d i ET AL.

5.4. Conductivity

The maximum and minimum conductivity levels for the

11 wells in the Amman, Zarqa and Balqa regions inves-

tigated ranged from 790 µScm-1 to 3640 µScm-1, respec-

tively. Figure 7 illustrates the conductivity level on a

monthly basis for each of the wells investigated. The

results indicate that there was a variation in the conduc-

tivity within any one well throughout the year of 276

µScm-1 to 1935 µScm-1. Table 7 highlights the monthly

conductivity throughout the year for each of the wells

investigated. These results indicate the early months of

the year have the lowest conductivity; however this rises

rapidly during May through June. These results also

demonstrate that the conductivity within a well can

change significant within any month with AL1192 show-

ing a 145% rise in conductivity between the 4th April and

27th May.

Table 7. The conductivity for the maximal and minimal months

and the perc en t a ge chan g e ov er th e p eri od f or each o f the 1 1 wells.

*Wel l subject to chlorination during some mo nths.

Figure 7. The conductivity (µScm-1) reco rd s fo r ea ch we ll in 2004 with inferred data shown as a dotted line.

K. A. Al q a d i ET AL.

6. Discussion

This study confirmed waste effluent can have a signifi-

cant negative impact on the water quality of the aquifers

in the basin. Ho wever, thi s study indicates that the prob-

lem may come from urban areas with low sanitation in-

frastructure. Also, areas under irrigation can have a

marked, localised and temporary effect on water quality.

Infil tra tion i s ar eas o f u nder deve lop me nt have sig ni fica nt

increase in the conductivity, particularly as the first flush

from the rains moves through the profile. Notwithstanding

all aquifers were determined to comply with the guide-

lines for maximum permissible standards for drinking

water, except for the A2/B7 aquifer from which water is

dra wn has regions of conductivity which is outside these

standards. It must be noted that the maximum permissi-

ble level for most water contaminants in Jordan often

exceed the WHO recommendations [4].

During this study the pH of all wells remained within

the permissible standards of the Jordanian water authori-

ty [4]. This study concluded that irrigation can have a

significant impact on the nitrate level of the aquifer with

nitrate levels shown to significantly exceed the maximal

permissible levels [4]. Areas of high urban density also

had higher nitrate levels which seasonally peaked at or

just above the Jordan Governmental standards for the

maximum permissible level, while lands which are

grazed have the lo west nitrates [4]. The high ammoniu m

content of AL1192, AL1898, and AL1899 is postulated

to come fro m infiltration o f the efflue nt from the c hicken

farm, indicating that ammonium contamination is highly

dependent on land use. The conductivity was found to be

lo wes t in the ra ngela nds wit h irri gated, urban, and ind us-

tria l lands s howi ng the highe st re adings. T his re flect s the

level of water use in each of these areas, indicating that

drawdown has a negative impact on the conductivity of

the water. This study confirms the results obtained in

neighboring aquifer systems in Jordan that indicate that

urbanizatio n and industrializat ion, coup led with intensive

agriculture, have a negative impact on water quality

when compared to natural rangeland systems [2,10].

Many of the aquifer systems in Jordan are under threat

from overexploitation and this unsustainable drawdown

will lead to many systems becoming dry by 2030 to 2040

[8].There is a need for increased monitoring throughout

the Amman, Zarqa and Balqa regions over a long term in

order to capture a more reliable image of the declines in

water quality and regulate the water extraction or face the

loss of the aquifer system [4,13,18].

7. Conclusions

The aquifers within the Amman, Zarqa and Balqa regions

are affected by irrigation, industrialisation and urbansia-

tion. The increased drawdown of the aquifers has led to

declines in the water quality o ve r t he lo ng ter m. T he mon-

thly variations in water quality parameters are signifcantly

affected by the rainfall which leads to infiltration of

water that carries pollutants from anthropogenic sources

and dissolved salts from the geological strata that the

water moves through. The drawdown of the aqufers has

led to a concentration of salts and other contaminants that

would have previously been dispersed in a historical

larger water volume.

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