|
ملخص البحث |
The water crises in the Gaza Strip is expected to escalate in the next decade or such. Large amount of the rainwater is discharged to the sea or to the waste water sewage system. The work described here aims to investigate the quality of harvested rainwater in cisterns. The harvested rainwater was analysed for Ca, Mg, Na, K, HCO3, CO3, Cl, SO4 pH and EC. Microbiological tests for (faecal and total faecal coliform) content were also measured. The results showed that the harvested rainwater has high values of Cl, and HCO3, and the coliform was found in all the analysed water samples. The arrived results are attributed to the probability that some of the cisterns were not cleaned well before the rainwater harvesting and to the dissolution of some of the materials forming the cistern itself. The high coliform content is attributed to the presence of faeces of birds most probably during and after the rainy period. It is suggested that these cisterns are to be better cleaned and to find ways for protecting them from contamination caused by birds. The high concentration of some Cl values in the rain water is attributed to the high Cl content of water vapour carried by winds from the sea. Thus, harvested water needs more investigations and better preparations to be used for either domestic purposes or artificial recharge. |
