A Review of Groundwater Contamination in West Bank, Palestine: Quality, Sources, Risks, and Management

Abstract

The contamination and shortages of drinking water in the West Bank are among the most important challenges facing the Palestinian National Authority (PA) and the population residing in all sectors. In general, the contamination of water sources makes it difficult to obtain a sufficient quantity of drinking water of suitable quality, since contaminated water has a harmful effect on health, which profoundly impairs the quality of life. Despite knowledge of the adverse health effects of chemical and biological groundwater contamination, few studies have been conducted to suggest measures that can be taken to overcome the contamination and shortages of water. In our review, four levels of domains are used to evaluate the groundwater situation/condition in the West Bank, including (i) assessing the groundwater quality in the West Bank, (ii) identifying the sources of groundwater pollution, (iii) determining the degree of health risks associated with groundwater pollution, and (iv) determining the role of groundwater management in maintaining the quality and sustainability of these sources. To this end, the previous literature on groundwater status was reviewed for the past 27 years. In order to analyze the existing literature, a review matrix based on these four core domains was developed. Our findings revealed only 5 studies corresponding to the first nine years and 9 and 16 studies in the second and third periods, respectively. Furthermore, we found that only a few studies have examined the degree of health risk of groundwater in the West Bank. Although the government of Palestine has made access to safe drinking water a priority for its population, the PA struggles to provide sufficient and clean water to its residents, with a number suffering from water shortages, especially in dry seasons.