Vol.4 No.3 – 2 : Assessment of Groundwater Quality for Drinking and Agricultural Purpose in Seven Districts, Rabigh Governorate, Saudi Arabia

By : Zaki Al-Hasawi ¹, Esam Al-Wesabi ^1,5*, Hassan Al-Harbi ², Reem Al-Hasawi ³, Basim Aloufi ⁴

¹ Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

² Poison Control and Medical Forensic Toxicology Center, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

³ Department of Chemistry Sciences, Faculty of Science and arts, King Abdul Aziz University, Rabigh, Saudi Arabia.

⁴Rabigh Power Company, Rabigh, Saudi Arabia.

⁵Al-Hodeidah University, Republic of Yemen.

Abstract

This study was conducted to analyze well waters in seven regions, Hajar, Mughynia, Nuweiba, Rabigh, Al-Abwa, Mastourah, and Kilayyah, which lie along the valleys that discharge in the Red Sea in the Western Region of Saudi Arabia. This is to evaluate and determine whether the water of these wells is suitable for drinking and agricultural use. The study included determination of the major elements Ca, Na, K, Mg, P, F, the heavy metals, Fe, Cu, Zn, Al, Mn, Ba, and the toxic metals, Ni, Pb, Cd, Cr, Ag, Mo, Co, Be, V, Ar, Sb, Ti, and U concentration in the water of these wells. The elements Na, K, P increased in the ground water following the passage of water from upper valley to lower valley, and the elements Ca, Na, Mg and Cl concentration in well water is affected by their nearness to the Red Sea water, and the wells of Hajar, El-nugemia and Nuweiba have the least concentrations of these elements while those near the coast, Mastourah, Rabigh, Kilayyah and Al-Abwa contain water with high concentrations of these elements. As for water content of the major elements, all well waters is acceptable for drinking, except Mastourah with a high concentration of Na and Mg, and Rabigh and Al-Abwa with a high concentration of Ca. All wells water is acceptable for drinking as regards their content of the heavy and toxic metal.

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