Rainwater harvesting systems in Yatta town : water quality and impacts on public health

Other Title(s)

نظام جمع مياه الأمطار في بلدة يطا : نوعية المياه و التأثير على الصحة العامة

Dissertant

Tamimi, Lina Muhammad Ali

Thesis advisor

al-Khatib, Isam A.

Comitee Members

Mahmud, Nidal
Inayah, Fathi

University

Birzeit University

Faculty

Institute of Environmental and Water Studies

Department

Water and Environmental Sciences

University Country

Palestine (West Bank)

Degree

Master

Degree Date

2016

English Abstract

The aim of this study is to assess the quality of the water harvested in the cisterns of Yatta town; in the southern part of the West Bank, Palestine.

It has assembled 50 different cistern samples from Yatta and tested for different physiochemical (pH, Conductivity, Salinity, Total Dissolved Solids, Turbidity, Alkalinity, Chloride, Ammonia, Residual Chlorine) and microbiological (Total Coliforms and Fecal Coliforms) characteristics.

The water-health relationship has been investigated through a well-designed questionnaire that targeted a statistically representative sample of household in Yatta town.

Physicochemical test results were within allowable limits by the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Palestinian Standards Institute (PSI), except for the proportions of turbidity and salinity which exceeded these limits with percentages of 5% for both tests.

Most of the tested water samples were microbiologically contaminated with Total Coliforms (TC) and Fecal Coliforms (FC) with percentages of 96% and 70% respectively.

The surrounding environment of the cisterns such as the inappropriate collection surfaces, and the presence of cesspits around the cisterns and the absence of available free chlorine in the RWH in addition to a number of other factors appear to be responsible for the reduced microbial quality.

Water related diseases such as diarrhea, diarrhea and vomiting, and eyes diseases with high percentages are anticipated to be a main consequence of the poor water quality.

would like to express my special thanks to my supervisor Prof.

Dr.

Issam Al-Khatib who had the primary role in opening my scientific path and inspired me throughout the thesis period, which in turn was not to be completed without his guidance and supervision.

I would like also to thank my father “Mohammad Ali” and my mother “Alshreefa Alia”, my brothers Ammar, Abdallah, Abdulrahman and Naser, and my sisters Salsabeel and Sahar.

Great thanks are also due to laboratory technician Mr.

Tareq Thaher for his valuable support.

I do not forget thanked the engineers and workers at Yatta municipality for their assistance during the fieldwork.

I appreciate the support of the friends who accompanied and helped me in field work, and the support of everyone provided me a required data.

This work was carried out as part of the ‘Rainwater Harvesting Analysis using Water Harvesting Evaluation Tool (WHEAT)’ project supported by the USAID- funded Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER) program, implemented by the U.S.

National Academy of Sciences.

Sponsor Grant Award Number: AID-OAA-A-11-00012

Main Subjects

Earth Sciences, Water and Environment

No. of Pages

79

Table of Contents

• APA
• MLA
• AMA

Language

English

Data Type

Arab Theses

Record ID

BIM-728263