TITLE:
The Influence of Fertilizers on Groundwater Quality in Gaza Strip—Free Settlements on Khan Younis—Case Study
AUTHORS:
Yunes Mogheir, Salahaldin Abu Abdou, Samir Matar
KEYWORDS:
Free Settlements, Khan Younis, Groundwater Aquifer Quality
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Water Resource and Protection,
Vol.8 No.3,
March
23,
2016
ABSTRACT: The Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture started the agricultural investment
in some free settlements in Gaza strip since 2008. The proposed areas to be planted
and the proposed crops were chosen randomly without any researches to study the
expected adverse impacts of these agricultural projects on the environmental components.
This research aimed at the groundwater aquifer in the proposed region physically
and chemically by taking five water samples from water wells in the place. Represented
groundwater samples taken from observation wells in the study area were tested in
term of total dissolved solids (TDS), electric conductivity (EC), and (N-P-K) concentrations
to be compared with the regulated groundwater standards. As a result of testing
two fertilizers, it is found that the announced concentrations of (N-P-K) don’t
match the real results. The real results are less than the announced concentrations,
especially for the phosphorus concentration which had a real result about half of
the announced concentration for both fertilizers. Although the real concentrations
of (N-P-K) in the used fertilizers are less the announced concentrations, slightly
pollution is found in the groundwater aquifer. The groundwater testing results in
five observation wells showed that the groundwater tends to be basic, high salinity
ranged between 550 and 3500 μS/cm, and Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) results ranged
between 330 and 2300. Nitrate results ranged between 65 and 160 ppm, whereas phosphorus
and potassium results showed that all groundwater samples met the standards and
didn’t exceed them.