Impacts of Biodegradable Organics on Soils and Ground Water in West Bank

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of biological oxygen demand (BOD) on soil and drinking water in WestBank. This study will give us a conclusion about ground water contamination of waste from solid waste and sewage water. The study was performed on two soil samples brought from Jericho and Tulkarm. The physical and chemical properties of the two soil samples were analyzed. 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 Tulkarm soil, but in May the BOD concentration was higher in Tulkarm 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 soil. The total dissolved solids (TDS) concentration in the leachate was decreasing in both soil with time . The BOD concentration was increasing in the soil layers from top to the bottom in both soils (Tulkarm, Jericho), but BOD was higher in Tulkarm soil in each layer compared with that in Jericho soil layers. The TDS level in Tulkarm 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.