Lebanon’s Water Resources Salinity Crisis
Mark Saadeh, Gebran Karam
KREDO, Beirut, Lebanon.
DOI: 10.4236/gep.2024.1212006   PDF    HTML   XML   26 Downloads   178 Views  

Abstract

Lebanon’s water sources, be it groundwater, springs, rivers or even tap water are notoriously plagued with a cocktail of contaminants from raw sewage, pesticides and fertilizers just to name a few, but the most salient being seawater intrusion, measured as Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) or Electrical Conductivity (EC). Myriad water sources have been sampled and tested since 2023, for said salinity (TDS), with results exceeding local as well as international drinking water guidelines of 500 milligrams per liter in many instances. This deterioration is compelling most citizens to install costly desalination equipment, purchasing bottled water and paying private tankers for questionable water, forcing households to spend in excess of USD 850 per year. This study aims to assess the quality of multiple water sources including wells, springs and tap water emphasizing the impacts salinity imparts on the Lebanese population as a whole with some practical recommendations.

Share and Cite:

Saadeh, M. and Karam, G. (2024) Lebanon’s Water Resources Salinity Crisis. Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection, 12, 98-111. doi: 10.4236/gep.2024.1212006.

1. Introduction

Intrusion of seawater into coastal aquifers is rampant, in Lebanon as well as the Mediterranean basin, due to high extraction rates and low recharge. Due to this rising salinity, household are compelled to seek alternate sources causing water expenditures to exceed 6.5% of incomes, significantly higher than the worldwide averages (Alameddine et al., 2018).

The hydrogeological context of Lebanon is complex and poorly researched in light of the decades-long calamities that never seem to abate, as such, it is beyond the reach of this paper to contemplate elucidation. However, it would suffice to point out that said hydrogeology comprises ten or so aquifers predominantly karstic in nature, and the ones that intersect the 225 km long coastline are subject to the Ghyben-Herzberg principle.

The principle was put forward by Willem Ghijben and Alexander Herzberg at the turn of the twentieth century. They derived said analytical solution to approximate the behavior of seawater intrusion, which is based on a number of broad assumptions that often does not apply to all field cases.

Simply put, when an aquifer crops out beneath the sea, ocean water may enter it under certain conditions. Sea water will be at such a depth that the overlying column of fresh groundwater will exactly balance a column of heavier sea water, according to said principle.

Hence, under static conditions, if the freshwater has a specific gravity of 1.0 and seawater a specific gravity of 1.025, the interface between the heavier sea water and the overlying freshwater in the area is pushed 40 meters below sea level for every meter that the water table stands above sea level. This is a very important point because it means that if the height of the water table above sea level is known, it is possible to calculate the depth to which freshwater is present as in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1. Ghyben-Herzberg Principle (Geological Digressions, 2016).

With the above in mind, Shaban (2015), postulates that there are no less than 100,000 wells strewn across Lebanon, pumping groundwater at an average rate of no less than 10 liters per day, most being unlicensed. UNDP on the other hand, estimates that there are no less than 80,000 wells across Lebanon with an alarming density of about 8 per square kilometer, the majority of which are also unregistered (UNDP, 2014). With the above in mind, all wells along the Lebanese coastline are subject to the repercussions of the Ghyben-Herzberg principle.

Additionally, an unhindered influx of Syrian refugees into Lebanon since 2011, topped with recurrent periods of drought have placed tremendous stress on an already dwindling resource. These concurrent stressors have inadvertently exacerbated the overall quality of freshwater in Lebanon, demonstrated by an outbreak of cholera that spread like wildfire, from refugee camps, and engulfing the entire nation, killing no less than 50 persons in 2022.

With the above in mind, supply of freshwater to the populated cities of Lebanon like coastal Beirut, has for decades forced the water authorities to adopt rationing to just a few hours per week, leaving civilians to resort to unsustainable measures such as over-pumping of ground water, and relying on dubious water vendors in the shape of tankers and bottled water.

Despite the urgency of these societal and environmental challenges, a better understanding of the impacts of seawater intrusion on different sectors and potential mitigation measures are inadequate.

As such, this paper attempts to identify the extent of salinization across the country’s different water sources, with the aim of recommending immediate measures to abate the root-cause of it i.e. seawater intrusion, at least for the immediate future. To this end, existing literature related to seawater intrusion impacts in Lebanon was reviewed, proposing some viable and readily implementable mitigation measures.

Owing to the fact that the endeavor of this paper was an initiative undertaken by like-minded water pundits, with limited resources, the aim of the survey is to simply highlight the severity of salinization using portable equipment. A comprehensive national water quality monitoring program is the inevitable solution, to be carried out by the Lebanese government, namely the Ministry of Energy & Water.

2. Materials and Methods

Sampling and testing of water sources began across Lebanon in the summer of 2023 (Figure 1) and continues to the present day, using several portable LaMotte Salt/TDS/pH/Temperature TRACER Pocke Tester.

Tests were carried out in accordance with ASTM, 2019 guidelines, D4448-01 Standard Guide for Sampling Groundwater Monitoring Wells. The test results of the campaign are summarized in the Appendix.

Water sources were analyzed in-situ for temperature, and Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), thus minimizing errors and costs as opposed to laboratory testing. TDS values are determined by multiplying the conductivity measurement by a known conversion ratio factor. The meter allows the selection of a conversion ratio factor that is typically between 0.5 and 0.7. The stored ratio factor will briefly appear in the lower temperature display when the meter is first turned on or when changing the measurement function to TDS.

Meter accuracy verification was performed on a daily basis. During calibration, the meter was set in the salinity mode to perform calibration for salinity and TDS. The automatic calibration procedure recognizes the conductivity standard of 3000 ppm (3 ppt) for salinity samples within the range of 1000 to 9999 ppm salinity. Samples exceeding this range where diluted with distilled water accordingly then multiplied by the dilution factor to arrive at the estimated TDS value.

In the case of sampling and testing groundwater through wells, they were purged for at least five minutes rather than the equivalent three water columns due to the fact that in many instances, data pertaining to wells was incomplete.

The results were evaluated in accordance with the World Health Organization (WHO) Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality (2020) which stipulates a guideline of 500 mg/L (TDS) as well as other standards, including FAO’s for agriculture (FAO, 1994) with a TDS not exceeding 450 mg/L, and finally the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM, 2022) prefers potable water standards for concrete batching whenever possible.

ESRI’s ArcGIS 10.8.1 was used to generate Figure 2 of this paper. All water sources sampled in said figures are also found in the Appendix.

It is worthy to elaborate on the differences between Electrical conductivity (EC), Salinity and Total dissolved solids (TDS). EC (electrical conductivity) is a measure of a water sample’s ability to conduct electric current. It is primarily determined by the presence of dissolved salts and other inorganic substances that ionize in water. Such substances are known as electrolytes, and they conduct electricity due to their positive and negative charges.

The SI unit for conductivity is Siemens per meter (S/m). Conductivity increases with the amount of electrolytes dissolved in water up to a degree, as well as with increases in temperature.

Salinity on the other hand, is related to conductivity as it describes the total concentration of all dissolved salts in a water sample. Salinity is, therefore, commonly derived from specific conductance (conductivity and temperature) for convenience.

Lastly, Total dissolved solids (TDS) are defined as the sum of all particles that can pass through a 2-micron (0.0002 cm) filter. This includes both electrolytes (ions contributing to salinity) and any other non-ionic molecules, such as dissolved organic matter. TDS is reported as a concentration in mg/L. It was traditionally measured by evaporation, but for field measurements, it is normally derived from conductivity measurement using a TDS factor, which is approximated depending on the water type and any known sources of ions and other material.

3. Results and Discussion

Annual renewable water resources per capita in the Arab World is understandably among the lowest in the world, and by 2025, Lebanon’s water supply deficit will exceed 1000 MCM/year (Korfali & Jurdi, 2011) placing tremendous strains on demands for water quantity and more importantly, quality.

World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for drinking water does not express any particular health hazard from TDS concentrations exceeding 500 mg/L, however, the economic impact of aquifers degraded by seawater intrusion on Lebanon’s infrastructure is incalculable as highlighted by Alameddine et al. (2018) from accelerated corrosion of Lebanon’s infrastructure as well as deterioration of fertile soils.

An additional problem of increase in salt concentrations is a phenomenon called freshwater salinization syndrome (FSS). This syndrome is a result of direct as well as indirect effect of salts that cause other pollutants from soils, ground-waters, surface waters, and pipes to become soluble and mobile (Cooper et al., 2014).

FSS with its direct and indirect effects has serious impacts on surface, ground and drinking water quality, as well as aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem function, human health, food production, and degradation of infrastructure (Sujay et al., 2021).

FSS encompasses several processes such as sodification (increase in exchangeable sodium ions expressed as ESP, impacting soils by reducing their permeabilities), salinization (increase in total water ions expressed as TDS or electrical conductivity EC leading to enhanced corrosion etc.), and alkalinization or the increase in alkalinity or ability of a solution to neutralize acids through carbonates, bicarbonates etc. (Kaushal et al., 2019) impacting ecosystems.

Salts alone can directly impact water quality by increasing the rate of ions mobilized from soils and pipes becoming concentrated in ground and surface waters. Nitrates for instance can be mobilized by FSS thereby leading to harmful algal blooms or HABs destroying freshwater systems as well as coastal waters (EPA, 2022). Nitrates also impact infants with spikes in cases of Blue Baby Syndrome or methemoglobinemia as well as potentially increasing cases of certain cancers, namely gastric cancers (Picetti et al., 2022).

Increased salinity (often expressed as TDS) would render coastal aquifers unsuitable for public supply with only a 2% contamination (Bear, 1999). Normally, a 1% mixing would triple groundwater salinity or TDS, while 5% mixing would increase salinity to the guideline limit of 450 mg/L (Bear, 1999). Hence once freshwater resources are degraded by salt contamination, it will take decades for aquifers to recover, and if positive groundwater recharge conditions are not re-established, they may never do so.

The TDS values summarized in the Appendix and labeled into three groups, namely groundwater (expressed as wells and springs), tap water (municipal supply), and surface runoff (rivers and streams).

To begin with, groundwater TDS results, especially with coastal sources clearly indicate contamination by seawater in several wells in Saida (99), coastal Chouf (30), and Keserouane (39). As for Greater Beirut, the severity of seawater intrusion has been long established by the author’s doctoral dissertation undertaken between 2004-08 and again in subsequent articles, that measured groundwater

Figure 2. Locations of sampled water sources across Lebanon.

quality including TDS in a multitude of wells indicating severe seawater contamination (Saadeh, 2008).

As for the tap water provided by local public utilities, most notable include Beirut (#45) at about 2200 mg/L, Jbail (#57 & #59) at 2300 and 2050 mg/L respectively, and Baabda (#95) at a staggering 5500 mg/L, all of which deleteriously exceeding permissible guidelines for drinking water, concrete batching and agricultural irrigation.

Lastly, surface runoff (streams, rivers etc.) like those measured in samples #14 and #55, are generally still within acceptable guidelines for TDS of 500 mg/L as per drinking water, concrete batching and irrigation.

4. Recommendations

Once freshwater has been afflicted with elevated Salinity/TDS (Korfali & Jurdi, 2010), like most metropolitan centers along Lebanon’s coastline, combating these effects may take decades to undo, as per notable studies including Bear (1999), and again Barlow (2003). Even though, aquifer recharge is often employed for contaminated coastal aquifers worldwide, only potable water standards should provide a reference point for recharging said aquifers, a commodity which is already acutely scarce in Lebanon and the region.

By no means are the following recommendations a panacea for ensuring water efficiency and quality for any Integrated Water Resources Management Plan (IWRM), nevertheless, experts alike agree that they are integral to any successful water management plan, from the eminent Tony Allan (2011) to Klaus Balke and many others.

4.1. Water Metering

Once water sources are assessed for their sustainability and quality, domestic water networks must then be accounted for by the installation of meters along the entire supply chain. Unsurprisingly, Lebanon has the unique distinction of being among the few states globally that has yet to do so.

With myriad conflicting sources of literature, it is of little surprise that estimates wildly differ as to the exact amount of water losses in the networks, be they real or apparent, but most experts would agree that said losses are staggering, attributed mostly to leakages from an antiquated network, compounded by illegal tapping by a large swath of the population.

Additionally, tariffs on this most contentious resource still remain fixed at a flat rate. Any attempt to install water meters and operate them, have often been hindered by the public and politicians alike. Metering is nevertheless critical since it is widely accepted that metered cities consume at the very least 15% less water than their unmetered counterparts (Ratnayaka et al., 2009).

Lastly, groundwater recharge rates have been estimated to be anywhere between 4700 and 7200 million cubic meters (MCM) annually. The discharge rates on the other hand are estimated to be around 2500 MCM. Therefore, the water balance varies positively between 2200 MCM to over 4700 MCM annually (UNDP, 2014). With over 100,000 wells across Lebanon, and the majority of which are unregistered (IWMI, 2017), priority must be given to bringing unlicensed wells into the fold and immediately through strict enforcement of the letter of the law.

4.2. Integrated Water Resources Management

An Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) plan is the way forward for efficient, equitable and sustainable development and management for all the world’s scarce freshwater resources.

In Lebanon, a national IWRM plan is yet to be effectively implemented. In its place, a perfunctory document that many consider to be a national integrated water management plan, called the National Water Sector Strategy Update (2020) by the Ministry of Energy & Water.

Said document presents abstract plans, strategies, and policies relevant to potable water, irrigation and wastewater (UNDP, 2014). This aforementioned strategy is struggling to get off the ground in light of the ongoing 2019 financial crisis, compounded by the conflict with Israel that has put on hold all forthcoming international assistance.

For the success of any IWRM policy, coastal aquifers afflicted by seawater intrusion, should be prioritized for effective and immediate counter measures by relevant authorities, namely the Ministry of Energy and Water (MoEW) through proven interventions; including the implementation of an immediate moratorium on coastal wells, coupled with stricter regulations on all pending well permits. Secondly, the aforementioned existing national strategy would greatly benefit from an overhaul which is beyond the scope of this or any other paper for the time being.

4.3. Groundwater Protection

To manage Lebanon’s groundwater resources, it is absolutely imperative to delineate protection zones around springs and public wells. Within these water protection zones, water resources take priority over all other competing interests of land use.

A typical area where groundwater would be protected against contamination may be divided into three zones akin to what is adopted in the EU as well as Germany (Balke et al., 2008):

Protection Zone I: protects the direct vicinity of a wells or springs against any form of contamination. Said wells and springs would be encircled by fences with a radius of tens of meters preventing any unauthorized entry and any form of agriculture or construction.

Protection Zone II: categorized as zones vast enough to eliminate microorganisms introduced into the groundwater after 50 days. The “50-day-line” is the connection of all sites within an aquifer for which groundwater requires 50 days until it arrives at a well or spring.

Protection Zone III: in this protected zone, most if not all sources of pollution are forbidden whether from the agricultural, industrial or domestic sector.

4.4. Water Conservation

Any IWRM plan must first and foremost involve the local community, directing them to savings techniques such as efficient household water use, installing household metering systems, as well as a complete overhaul of existing water tariffs. The conservation of water at the household level can be achieved by the establishment of proven methods to influence people’s attitudes and re-orient their praxis to water savings.

Such activities should focus but are certainly not restricted to the following:

1) Public awareness campaigns that focus on water conservation in order to reduce water demand at household levels through media, and lectures at schools and universities alike;

2) Involvement of all the stakeholders including grass root citizens in IWRM plans;

3) Water conservation to be integrated into school and university curricula; and

4) Water conservation attained by the use of water metering systems as mentioned previously, as well as using household water saving appliances like toilets, washing machines and showers just to name a few.

5. Conclusion

The results of the ongoing water quality campaign, sharply focus the deleterious effect of seawater intrusion on Lebanon’s most precious water resource, groundwater, however, more alarming is the fact that elevated values of TDS have now been detected in all major coastal cities, namely Beirut, Saida, Tripoli and Byblos (Jbeil) alike.

Any water management strategy is by no means a “one size fits all” approach, and each has to be fine-tuned to its required set of goals, nevertheless, the aforementioned recommendations are a fundamental step in the right direction. As such, this paper emphasizes first and foremost the urgency for the implementation of an updated national comprehensive integrated water resources management plan (IWRM) with immediate enforcement ensuring that coastal aquifers are disencumbered by the Ghyben-Herzberg principle. This will decouple the impacts of salinization from coastal aquifers on which the majority of Lebanon’s population relies.

All of Lebanon’s aquifers, on the other hand, must also be protected by adopting the recommended three protection zones coupled by a metering the nation’s entire water supply network from source to tap. Only then can water conservation proceed in tandem with water efficiency.

As a final note, the late eminent professor Tony Allan warns that “wherever we irrigate, society always runs out of water”, a declaration that will certainly not bode well with agriculture pundits.

Lebanon, and the Middle East continues to rely heavily on irrigation, consuming around 70% of its renewable freshwater resources, to that end, an improvement of only 10% in irrigation efficiency could potentially double the resources available for public water supply according to TWORT’s, an avenue well worth pursuing in Lebanon and the region, where agricultural practices remain stubbornly adamant to proven and efficient irrigation methods.

Acknowledgements

This study took time and effort of countless hours to bring to fruition, which would not have been possible without the unwavering support of friends, colleagues and the generosity of the Lebanese folk.

Appendix

Point

Caza

Latitude

Longitude

TDS (mg/L)

Source

1

Bcharre

34.2854228

35.9014213

273

Well

2

Koura

34.298324

35.801625

315

Tap

3

Koura

34.3191154

35.8024002

500

Well

4

Tripoli

34.43955

35.837219

5000

Well

5

Tripoli

34.452507

35.817951

39,000

Seawater

6

Jbail

34.1154864

35.6732696

440

Tap

7

Beirut

33.90044

35.57582

1054

Tap

8

Kesrouane

33.9903966

35.6732807

372

Tap

9

Jbail

34.10458

35.67332

225

Tap

10

Beirut

33.8746

35.52502

582

Tap

11

Marjayoun

33.29107

35.59902

364

Well

12

Marjayoun

33.29116

35.59882

361

Well

13

Kesrouane

34.04853

35.64056

233

Tap

14

Kesrouane

34.04687

35.63996

260

Stream

15

Jbail

34.12199

35.65574

290

Well

16

El Metn

33.9206046

35.6814523

110

Spring

17

El Metn

33.920543

35.681504

370

Spring

18

El Metn

33.9189142

35.6907697

360

Spring

19

Zahle

33.849722

35.9041666

183

Tap

20

El Metn

33.9364

35.8422

153

Tap

21

Kesrouane

34.025338

35.700492

325

Tap

22

Chouf

33.697993

35.563921

325

Tap

23

Chouf

33.695628

35.556102

186

Tap

24

Saida

33.564561

35.402367

580

Tap

25

Saida

33.564561

35.402367

490

Tap

26

Jbail

34.113558

35.668193

240

Tap

27

Beirut

33.8931317

35.4804838

510

Tap

28

Beirut

33.9287184

35.5879482

385

Tap

29

Baabda

33.8739974

35.6949623

190

Tap

30

Chouf

33.663842

35.42282

1000

Well

31

Chouf

33.64947

35.443075

150

Tap

32

Kesrouane

33.98149

35.62299

270

Tap

33

Batroun

34.189977

35.898596

260

Spring

34

Batroun

34.188168

35.886293

280

Spring

35

Batroun

34.181549

35.897071

300

Spring

36

Jbail

34.12112

35.65657

1230

Tap

37

Jbail

34.11456

35.67648

333

Tap

38

Jbail

34.1155

35.67408

390

Tap

39

Kesrouane

34.026499

35.634892

970

Spring

40

Jbail

34.115202

35.651525

280

Spring

41

Jbail

34.115393

35.673965

1020

Tap

42

Beirut

33.897435

35.5988732

1115

Tap

43

Beirut

33.8966903

35.5685056

400

Tap

44

Jbail

34.1155614

35.6744347

390

Tap

45

Beirut

33.88863

35.55766

2200

Tap

46

Saida

33.52146

35.35228

440

Tap

47

Nabatiye

33.46988

35.4707

380

Spring

48

Beirut

33.88965

35.55732

140

Tap

49

Marjayoun

33.304

35.547

520

Spring

50

Marjayoun

33.362

35.59

450

Spring

51

Marjayoun

33.363

35.593

460

Spring

52

Jbail

34.115417

35.6741296

970

Tap

53

Kesrouane

34.0247222

35.7022222

260

Spring

54

Kesrouane

33.9953499

35.6573473

230

Spring

55

Jbail

34.0828692

35.6884774

230

River

56

Jbail

34.08794

35.65431

200

Tap

57

Jbail

34.124

35.665

2300

Tap

58

Jbail

34.124

35.665

170

Tap

59

Jbail

34.124

35.665

2050

Tap

60

Jbail

34.107005

35.768282

180

Spring

61

Jbail

34.1039092

35.7582074

350

Tap

62

Beirut

33.8919806

35.5003013

500

Tap

63

Aley

33.8086789

35.5590712

234

Tap

64

Aley

33.8088246

35.5591024

410

Tap

65

Aley

33.8088377

35.5593193

400

Tap

66

Jbail

34.1113865

35.6705346

170

Tap

67

Jbail

34.12111

35.64806

420

Tap

68

Baalbek

34.258961

36.424646

370

Well

69

Baalbek

34.259556

36.409124

258

Tap

70

Jbail

34.119049

35.667263

691

Tap

71

Jbail

34.123

35.6519

215

Tap

72

Bcharre

34.25111

36.01111

315

Tap

73

Batroun

34.25

35.65

410

Tap

74

Jbail

34.1116216

35.6703656

360

Tap

75

Jbail

34.1149151

35.6726855

300

Tap

76

Sour

33.3267983

35.3510079

320

Tap

77

Baabda

33.8535978

35.5259794

555

Tap

78

Jbail

34.1165101

35.6759528

430

Tap

79

Sour

33.3187217

35.3496571

235

River

80

Marjayoun

33.17213

35.53212

160

Well

81

Jbail

34.12091

35.68532

210

Tap

82

Baabda

33.83934

35.74087

230

Spring

83

Jbail

34.130579

35.667183

160

Tap

84

Jbail

34.130579

35.667183

160

Tap

85

Jbail

34.115367

35.673729

310

Tap

86

Kesrouane

34.0275

35.654166

180

Tap

87

Kesrouane

34.0275

35.654166

160

Tap

88

Jbail

34.11611

35.674444

310

Tap

89

Kesrouane

33.9522424

35.632911

540

Spring

90

Kesrouane

34.0086396

35.691949

280

Spring

91

Kesrouane

34.0242896

35.7012685

290

Spring

92

Zahle

33.86974

35.94634

180

Spring

93

Jezzine

33.50061

35.54452

520

Tap

94

Zahle

33.835001

35.912718

270

Tap

95

Baabda

33.844618

35.522522

5500

Tap

96

Jbail

34.117149

35.674289

830

Tap

97

Jbail

34.117149

35.674289

460

Tap

98

Saida

33.50397

35.44975

400

Well

99

Saida

33.47852

35.319189

1600

Well

100

Aley

33.811

35.525

500

Well

101

Aley

33.77963462

35.62216843

500

Well

102

Beirut

33.88773

35.52618

360

Tap

103

El Metn

33.90809

35.69618

160

Tap

104

Saida

33.471081

35.326563

1350

Spring

105

Saida

33.50397

35.44975

450

Well

106

Beirut

35.489792

33.899559

23,000

Well

107

Beirut

35.490363

33.900256

6770

Well

108

Beirut

35.482357

33.895089

24,200

Well

109

Baabda

35.483302

33.866375

8750

Well

110

Baabda

35.503593

33.855521

37,500

Well

111

Baabda

35.497638

33.842585

22,000

Well

112

Tripoli

34.40705

35.81530

450

Well

113

Bekaa

33.87414

36.07942

300

Well

114

Bekaa

33.68354

35.79539

260

Well

115

Bekaa

33.714344

35.894823

450

Well

116

El Metn

33.908608

35.699867

440

Tap

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this paper.

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