Hydrogeological assessments of major springs in Wadi Al Bathan, West Bank, Palestine

Abstract

Wadi Al Bathan is one of the major tributaries of Wadi Al Faria River. Discharge measurements of six major Wadi springs taken over the past 24 years have been evaluated. The springs drained between 1.27 and 14.2 MCM/year during the hydrological years 1978/1979 (dry year) and 1991/1992 (wet year), respectively. The average calculated recharge area is about 16.8 km2, which actually exceeds the orographic area (10.5 km2), indicating one or more additional feeding water sources. It was found that there is a strong relationship between the discharge of this group and the intensity and distribution of rainfall. These results were confirmed using the hydrological data with the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and total nitrogen (TN) in the hydrological year 2004/2005. The organic carbon and nitrogen show a flush-out response three and four months after a big rain event, which also reveals a long time until the conduits filled from the bottom to top of the layers.