Water and Environmental Engineering
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- ItemGOVERNANCE ASSESSMENT OF BRACKISH WATER DESALINATION IN THE WEST BANK, PALESTINE(2022-09-20) Walaa Abu SaaBackground: Brackish water is one of the sources of water in Palestine. Due to the scarcity of fresh water in the West Bank, solutions must be found to make use of desalinated water for drinking water and agricultural use. Aim: The main objective of this research is to study the availability of small and affordable water desalination and purification systems in the West Bank. Strategies and policies that guide the use of desalinated water were assessed in this research, also the degree of success of this use in the West Bank. Methodology: The Governance Assessment Tool (GAT), is a framework that is used and elaborated in this thesis to assess the use of desalinated water. The developed governance assessment tool is made up of a ‘matrix’ like model consisting of five elements (actors and networks, goal ambitions and perceptions of the problem, strategies and instruments, resources and organization and levels and scales) and four criteria (flexibility, coherence, extent and intensity) Results: The search results are summarized as follows: • The governance system in terms of actors, it's highly supportive. Since most of actors are involved and the interaction between actors are stable and there is trust. It is simple to include new actors and some actors are pressuring to improve the desalination sector. • The governance system is restrictive in terms of problem perspectives and goal ambitions, especially there is aspects of the goals must be reassessed and some changes to the current policy must be done to achieve the goal. • The governance system in terms of strategies and instruments, it's moderate to supportive. All instruments are used but there are some conflicts between them. There is chance to use and combine between various instruments as it's stipulated in law. • The governance system is moderate in terms of responsibilities and resources, the responsibilities are clearly defined but some resources are missing. Also actors enhance collaboration within and across foundation. And the responsibilities can aggregation assigned but there is a Lack of resources to comply with the responsibilities. • The governance system is supportive in terms of level and scale, all levels are involved in the use project but the levels deem little multi-level cases exist and recognize their dependence. It is possible to move up and down levels in some cases. Also most levels are doing to make behavioral change or management reform. Conclusion: The governance system qualities assessment of desalination of brackish water in West Bank showed that in terms of flexibility and extent, the context of governance is supportive. And in terms of intensity and coherence, it's moderately supportive. Keywords: Brackish Water; Desalination water; Governance Assessment Tool (GAT); Water Governance; Water Scarcity.
- ItemESTIMATION SYNTHETIC UNIT HYDROGRAPHS PARAMETERS FOR WADI AL-BATHAN SUB-CATCHMENT(2023-03-29) Ghossoun Zeyad Tawfiq HamedallahAbstract Developing unit hydrographs is critical for hydraulic structure design and water resource management in gauged catchments. Due to the lack of local data, engineers should strive to estimate discharges based on empirical (synthetic) methods that can predict runoff based on rainfall in the ungauged catchments. Synthetic unit hydrographs, such as the Snyder and Soil Conservation Service (SCS), are popular and play an essential role in hydrology. These methods are simple, requiring only catchment characteristics such as area, length of mainstream, and slope. Therefore, these methods serve as valuable tools to simulate runoff from the ungauged catchment to estimate peak discharge, time to peak, and runoff volume. This research study is Al-Bathan sub-catchment, which is located in the northeastern part of the West Bank in Palestine with an area of 83 km2. The study used a de-convolution matrix approach to develop an average one-hour unit hydrograph by selecting four significant rainfall events in the period (2005-2007), and the direct runoff hydrographs which are measured by Al-Bathan flume located in the outlet of the sub-catchment. By computing the characteristics of the average one-hour unit hydrograph with peak discharge is 4.52 m3/sec and time to peak is 5 hours, Snyder and SCS hydrographs were developed to suit Al-Bathan sub-catchment physical characteristics. The parameters were determined for the Snyder, where Cp = 0.88 and Ct = 1.26, and the SCS, where Cp = 1.90 and C = 2.92. Therefore, these parameters fit the study area. These synthetic one-hour unit hydrographs were examined during two events (2017–2019) by comparing observed and simulated direct runoff hydrographs for these events. The performance was tested statistically using the Nash-Sutcliff coefficient, coefficient of determination, volume error, and percentage bias. Results showed that the synthetic unit hydrographs are suitable for application and that the SCS method is more accurate. Keywords: Al-Bathan Sub-catchment; Direct Runoff Hydrograph; Palestine; Synthetic Unit Hydrograph; Unit Hydrograph; Ungauged Catchment.
- ItemToward a Better Understanding of the Nitrate Contamination of the Groundwater in the West Bank The Case Study of the Eocene and the Western Aquifers(جامعة النجاح الوطنية, 2019-05-05) Aljundi, BalsamGroundwater is the main source of fresh water for the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza strip. Therefore, assessment and monitoring of its quality and quantity is essential. Recent studies have indicated an increasing trend in the nitrate contamination in the Eocene Aquifer (EA) and the Western Aquifer Basin (WAB). Nitrate contamination is mainly due to intense use of fertilizers, the seepage of wastewater from cesspits, and the lack of integrated wastewater systems. Elevated nitrate concentrations in drinking water may cause health problems such as methemoglobinemia in infants and stomach cancer in adults. This research aims to understand the spatial and vertical distribution of nitrate contamination in the groundwater of the West Bank by taking the EA and the WAB as case studies. A total of 16 wells within the WAB located in the northern part of Tulkarm governorate (Ash-Shaarawieh) were visited and tested to study the spatial distribution of nitrate concentration, while another six adjacent wells within the boundary of the Eocene aquifer that are located in Qabatiya town were considered to study the vertical distribution of nitrate concentration. These measurements were carried out on monthly basis between the period of September 2018 and March 2019. Results showed that there are elevated concentrations of nitrate beyond the maximum contaminant level (MCL) which equals 50 mg/l-NO3 in Ash-Shaarawieh particularly in Illar and Attil. These wells are located beneath irrigated areas and have the maximum range of nitrate concentrations resulted mainly from intensive agricultural activities (e.g. fertilizing, irrigation). While, wells that are located within the built-up areas have nitrate concentration ranges between 26 and 50 mg/l-NO3. This reflects the improper disposal of wastewater which is widely spread in these areas. For the vertical distribution, there is an inverse relation between the depth of sampled wells and the nitrate concentration in Qabatiya town. Finally, some practical management options to control the problem of nitrate pollution in the study areas were suggested. Modeling should be utilized for the selection of proper management options to control the nitrate occurrence in groundwater. In addition, more frequent and well distributed samples should be promoted through a well-developed strategy for groundwater monitoring
- ItemEnhancing Biogas Production by Using Slaughterhouse Wastewater and Domestic Sludge to Cover Energy Demand for Wastewater Treatment Plant in Nablus Governorate(جامعة النجاح الوطنية, 2017-08-24) Dababat, SalahaldeenIn this study, enhancement in biogas production from using Co-digestion of slaughterhouse wastewater (SHW) mixed with primary sludge (PS) was evaluated, and compared with biogas production from digest the SHW, and PS individually. In order to carry out this evaluation, lab experiments were conducted under mesophilic condition (35±2°C) by using bench scale batch digesters at laboratories of An-Najah National University. In all experiments, total solids (TS), total volatile solids (VS), and pH, alkalinity (ALK), also volatile fatty acids (VFA) were measured before and after digestion process. Further to these, the daily biogas and methane (CH4) production were also measured. Results indicated that Co-digestion system achieved the maximum biogas yield which was (499.8 Nml Biogas /g VS fed), while the biogas yield for digest each of PS, and SHW in individual digester were (411.5 Nml biogas per g VS fed, and 433.8 Nml biogas /g VS fed), respectively. It was found that the implementation of the Co-digestion of SHW with PS has improved the biogas yield comparing with what can be achieved by digest SHW and PS separately. Results also revealed that the CH4 yield from the Co-digestion was the maximum value of 220.3 Nml CH4/g VS fed, while the value of 200.1 Nml CH4/g VS fed was produced from digest PS separately, and the lowest value of 186.9 Nml CH4/g VS fed was achieved in case of SHW digestion separately. A result that prove along with the accumulation of VFA in the reactor the occurrence of inhibition in methanogenesis activity when the SHW was digested as individual substrate. The biodegradability of organic matter in Co-digestion system was found greater than SHW digestion individually, since organic removal was 44.4% in case of Co- digestion system, and it was 29.1% in case of digest SHW individually, while the maximum degradation was in case of digest PS individually which was 49.0%, and this make an indication that PS sample has less complex substrate comparing with SHW and Co-digestion samples. Results proved that implementation of anaerobic digestion to digest SHW, represents an alternative for biogas production, especially when it was applied in Co-digestion system. This study results has given useful answers for improving the efficiency of West Nablus Wastewater Treatment Plant (WN-WWTP) and about the appropriateness of SHW treatment to enhance the waste biodegradation and enhance biogas production within anaerobic digestion stage in the treatment plant, without causing financial, operational, technical, and environmental impacts on the treatment system.
- ItemOptimization of Private Sector Involvement in the Palestinian Water Sector Governance(جامعة النجاح الوطنية, 2017-07-25) Judeh, TariqPrivate sector involvement (PSI) in water sector is a sensitive issue that may be affected by several factors such as: investment determinants, economic situation of the country, legal aspects, social aspects and political aspects, these factors make PSI success level varies from state to another. Palestinian water sector suffers from various problems including: variability in water quantities from one governorate to another, dependency on donor countries, week relationships between the different institutions in the Palestinian water sector, and failings in the management and development of water resources. All of these shortcomings, especially the economic ones, need to be taken into consideration. However, there are limited studies on the governance of PSI in the Palestinian water sector. This research was conducted in order to achieve the following objectives: the first one: conduct SWOT analysis for PSI in the Palestinian water sector, the second: identify the key types, areas, framework, and legal framework for PSI in the Palestinian water sector, and finally: optimize the best PSI techniques in the Palestinian water sector through qualitative analysis of collected data