Qualitative spring water management in the central western catchment of the West Bank from hydrochemical and environmental isotopes approaches

Abstract

This study assesses spring water quality data connected to groundwater pollution indicators for building a qualitative groundwater management system in the central western catchment of the West Bank. It characterizes the major ion chemistry and trace elements for the mountainous spring water in terms of their suitability for irrigation and domestic purposes. The results increase community awareness about qualitative access to available and reliable water resources in central catchments. The cation–anion orders indicate calcium–hydrogen carbonate spring water type, useful for determining the parameters of risk. EC-TDS relations classified the water as fresh and within the allowable limits of the WHO guidelines. The fact that the majority of these springs are located within densely populated areas explains the higher counts of total and fecal coliforms. The environment of recharge is determined through the stable isotopic compositions of deuterium and oxygen—18 of a north–south profile analysis. The study shows that the isotopic composition, ranging from −5.06 to −5.89 ‰ for δ18O and from −20.28 to −24.44‰ for δ2 H. The δ2 H–δ18O relationship is used to define the local meteoric water line (LMWL), according to the equation: δ2 H = 4.7 δ18O + 3.6. The plotted isotopic content of the analyzed water samples on the Mediterranean meteoric water line signifies water recharge from recent precipitation