Groundwater Quality Assessment in Jazan Region, Saudi Arabia

Adel Alhababy,Abdul Al-Rajab

doi:10.12944/cwe.10.1.03

Abstract

Jazan province is an arid area, located at the southwestern part of Saudi Arabia along the Red Sea coast. Groundwater is the only resource of drinking water in this area; thus, its suitability for drinking and domestic uses is of public and scientific concern. In this study, groundwater samples were collected from 23 sites in Jazan area during fall 2014; measurements and analysis of water quality parameters including pH, total dissolved solids TDS, turbidity, hardness, alkalinity, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, sulfate, calcium, magnesium, chloride, iron and fluoride were carried out with references to WHO and Gulf Standardization Organization GSO. TDS values exceeded the permissible limit of 600 mg/l in 30.4% of samples, total hardness values exceeded the permissible limits of 300 mg/l in 34.8% of samples, and nitrate concentration exceeded the permissible limit of 50 mg/l in only one sample. However, the concentrations of investigated parameters in the groundwater samples were within the permissible limits of WHO. Our results showed that the water quality of groundwater in Jazan area is acceptable and could be used safely for drinking and domestic purposes. However, a special attention should be paid to the concentration of TDS and nitrate in groundwater in future studies.

Highlights

Groundwater is the sole resource of drinking water in arid areas, which is used in domestic consumption and irrigation[1, 2]
Were within the safe limits of 8 WHO17. This result is in accord with Owamah et al.[19] who reported pH values of groundwater samples collected from Niger Delta region lower than 8
Groundwater represents the sole source of drinking water supply in Jazan region, Saudi Arabia

Summary

Introduction

Groundwater is the sole resource of drinking water in arid areas, which is used in domestic consumption and irrigation[1, 2]. Physico-chemical properties of groundwater are being the key tool to estimate the water quality and its suitability for drinking, irrigation, or domestic uses[8, 9]. Groundwater is an important source of acceptable water for drinking in the arid regions and in particular in the Saudi Arabia where it is the sole water source for drinking, used in irrigation. The climate of Jazan is arid, hot and windy with a high humidity rate influenced by the Red Sea, the annual mean temperature 28°C, relative humidity 62%, and annual precipitation of 62 mm (Saudi presidency of meteorology and environment, unpublished data)

Objectives

Results

Conclusion