Impacts of biodegradable organics on soils and groundwater in West Bank

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of biological oxygen demand (BOD) on soil and drinking water in West Bank. This study will give us a conclusion about ground water contamination from solid waste and sewage water. The study was performed on two soil samples brought from Jericho and Talkarem. The physical and chemical properties of the two soil samples were analyzed. The experiment was studied using physical simulation by using different soil column techniques and making some estimation using the amount of rainfall each year and the dimensions of those columns. The study was conducted between April and May, 2009. The concentration of BOD in the leachate was found to increase with time in both types of soil, in April the BOD concentration was higher in the leachate from Jericho soil than Talkarem soil, but in May the BOD concentration was higher in Talkarem soil than Jericho soil. The concentration of BOD in the leachate collected from blank column was decreasing with time, the dissolved oxygen (DO) was decreasing with increasing BOD concentration in both soils. The total dissolved solids (TDS) concentration in the leachate was decreasing in both soils with time. The BOD concentration was increasing in the soil layers from top to the bottom in both soils (Talkarem and Jericho), but BOD was higher in Talkarem soil in each layer compared with that in Jericho soil layers. The TDS level in Talkarem soil layers was higher than in Jericho soil layers. The total nitrogen (TN) concentration in soil layers increases with depth and with time during water addition in the blank column but decreases in the soil layers in the columns where BOD was added