Surface water pollution in Lebanon

CVLE453: Engineering Sanitary

Prepared by:
Maha Al Ali, 202003079
Submitted to:
The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Faculty of Engineering
Instructor:
Dr. Akram Tarhini
Fall 2021-2022
Tripoli Campus

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Table of Contents
Abstract 1
Introduction 2
Responsible factors for polluting water in Lebanon: 3

The sources of chemical pollution 4

Types of water pollution sources 5
Effects of Water Pollution 6
The link between Water pollution and climatic impact 7

Disease caused by Surface water pollution 8

Suggested treatment systems for Polluted Surface water In Lebanon 9

Prevention of Water Pollution 10

Conclusion 11

References 12

Table of figures
Figure 1.1 North Lebanon............................................................................................................................5
Figure 1.3 Qaraoun Lake..............................................................................................................................6
.................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Figure 1.2 Litani River..................................................................................................................................6
Figure 2.2 Untreated Sewage......................................................................................................................8
Figure 2.1 Dumping Organics in the Sea......................................................................................................8
Figure 3.1.....................................................................................................................................................9
.................................................................................................................................................................. 10
Figure4 Point/non-point source pollution.................................................................................................10
Figure 5.1...................................................................................................................................................13
Figure 5.2...................................................................................................................................................14
Figure 5.3...................................................................................................................................................16
Figure 5.4...................................................................................................................................................17
Figure 5.5...................................................................................................................................................17
Figure 5.6...................................................................................................................................................17
Figure 5.7...................................................................................................................................................17
Figure 6 percentages of diseases...............................................................................................................19
Figure 7.1...................................................................................................................................................22

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Figure 7.2...................................................................................................................................................23
Figure 7.3 Standards of Environmental Limit Values.................................................................................24

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Abstract:
Lebanon unlike most other Middle Eastern countries is blessed with an abundant supply
of annual rainfall. The bad news is that most of Lebanon water sources is polluted and
unfit for domestic use. This project will consider the various factors responsible for
water pollution in Lebanon including their sources and effects on the surrounding
environment, in addition to their different forms, type of sources and how this surface
water pollution is reduced. At the end of this project various studies concerning some
Lebanese countries are revealed to explain more in numbers the effect of this water
pollution in Lebanon taking into consideration the direct impact on he climatic changes
in Lebanon.

Introduction:
Water pollution is intended as water quality degradation caused by the introduction of
substances that alter its physicochemical characteristics and impede its normal use. In
other words, any contamination of water with chemicals or other foreign substances that
are detrimental to human, plant, or animal health, is defined as water pollution. These
pollutants include fertilizers and pesticides from agricultural runoff; sewage and food
processing waste; lead, mercury, and other heavy metals; chemical wastes from
industrial discharges; and chemical contamination from hazardous waste sites. These
substances can have a human origin, when they are introduced by humans, or a natural
origin. Pollution can either be found at the level of superficial water or subterranean
water. Pollution of superficial water can differ in its features or seriousness depending
on whether it affects water in a river or in a lake or even in an ocean. The growth in
Lebanon has been rapid over the last few decades. The recent expansion of major cities
constituting more than 85% of the Lebanese population has become a national concern
due to the environmental impacts and increased needs for services and facilities
necessary for human welfare, although the country is blessed with reasonable water
availability, pressures on this important resource have increased in recent decades; the
country is now experiencing considerable water stress and serious quality deterioration.
While the country's population has more than doubled, from 2,703,019 in 1990 to
5,850,743 in 2015, urbanization has largely outpaced the institutional capacity of the
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Lebanese government to efficiently manage wastewater, creating severely polluted
water bodies. It is estimated that up to 90% of all wastewater is discharged untreated
directly into rivers, lakes, or the sea, causing major environmental degradation and health
risks. Numerous recent studies have identified a broad spectrum of pollutants, high
biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) levels, and microbiological counts affecting both
surface and groundwater.

Figure 1.1 North Lebanon

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Figure 1.2 Litani River Figure 1.3 Qaraoun Lake
Responsible factors for
polluting water in Lebanon:
In general, the most common polluting agents are the following:

 Fecal pollutants  Materials of fecal origin that reach water bodies

through sewage discharges or introduction of
zootechnical manure that hasn’t been
adequately treated this can cause diseases as
cholera, typhus fever, viral hepatitis
 Toxic inorganic  Like heavy metal ions that can poison or kill
substances living organisms.

 Inorganic harmful  Like phosphates and polyphosphates existing in

substances detergents, fertilizers, compounds of nitrogen
and phosphorus and in some industrial
discharges. These substances cause
eutrophication.

 Unnatural organic  Example weed killers, pesticides, insecticides

substances
 Free oils and  Which are insoluble, low density substances
emulsifiers which for this reason form superficial oily film
layers that prevent oxygen dissolution in water.

 Suspended solids  That obstruct vegetation growth

 Heat, acids, and  Originating especially from industrial

strong bases discharges.

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 Studies in Lebanon had selected 25 spots along the coast from which samples were taken
regularly over 30 months at depths of 2-50 meters. The results indicated that 16 spots were not
polluted and suitable for swimming, four were acceptable within the norms of the World Health
Organization guidelines and five were extremely polluted.

The study, which examined the harmful streptococci and coliforms bacteria, said several popular
beaches, especially in Beirut and Tripoli, were unsafe for swimming. It did not include areas
adjacent to factories, dump sites and sewage pipes because it is common knowledge that they
are highly polluted.

But the main factors of bacterial pollution in Lebanon are:

 According to a study, 70% of all fresh water sources were exposed to untreated sewage
from various homes and business premises. Among this sewage were also industrial
effluents. This has led to a significant microbial contamination of the water aside the
significant alteration in the color of the water. This development has made most of the
fresh water found in Lebanon unfit for domestic use. The northern city of Tripoli is the
region with the highest reported cases of freshwater contamination. On the other hand,
the Nahr Ibrahim River and Litani River are regarded as the two most polluted rivers in
Lebanon. Another sad incidence is the restriction of the use of the Qaraoun Lake for
fishing because of an overwhelming presence of heavy metal from industrial effluents.
Practically all rivers in Lebanon suffer the consequences of dumped industrial waste.

 Another type of water contamination in Lebanon is Industrial effluents into the sea.

According to a recent survey, it was discovered that the seawater had a high incidence of
chemical contamination. Research discovered that 30% of all fish caught off the coast of
Lebanon had plastic in their stomach. This is due to the illegal dumping of plastic wastes
into the sea by industries. More so, a recent study concluded that plastic contaminants
were encountered under water of the Lebanese shore. In addition, disposed oil from
ships and wastes are also part of the causes of water pollution in Lebanon.

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Figure 2.1 Dumping Organics in the Sea Figure 2.2 Untreated Sewage

 Another source of water pollution in Lebanon is the use of fertilizers and pesticides. Farmers
in Lebanon use pesticides and fertilizers without conformity with government regulation. At a
point, the government was able to put in place an effective protocol to curb the abuse of
fertilizers and pesticides. However, Government efforts to regulate agricultural activities to
prevent pollution suffered serious setbacks.

 Another cause of water pollution in Lebanon is that solid waste are improperly disposed into
water sources. This is because when solid wastes are incinerated, the particles remaining are
carried by flood to contaminate fresh water sources when heavy rain falls. Nevertheless, the
robust regulation that had been instituted to combat indiscriminate disposal of solid waste
was inefficient, and the practice continued. Solid wastes are still being incinerated all over the
municipalities, causing water pollution when rainfalls and carrying wastes into rivers lakes and
other freshwater sources.

 Landfilling is another cause of water pollution in Lebanon. Lebanon produces over 150
tons of waste daily. One of the usual ways of disposing this waste is by land filling them.
The consequence of this is that when rain falls, the liquid part of the waste is carried by
flood to cause pollution of fresh water sources

The sources of chemical pollution are:

 Factories that are located near the seaside.

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  dumps placed along the seaside in places like Tyre, Beirut and Tripoli,

 Power plants adjacent to the coast or near rivers into which industrial waste is dumped
and much of which ends up in the sea.

Figure 3.1

Lebanese people dump their wastes in the water as what activists stated in the early of June
2015 in which trucks used to throw the garbage taken from Burj Hammoud in the sea.The
second main reason for water pollution in Lebanon is the untreated sewage. In the last 20 years,
the Lebanese government spent more than $1.5 billion in loans to put in place a water sanitation
system but they are just not connected to the sewage network, so the sewage ends up being
thrown without treatment, all of this is happening because of a total lack of governance and a
high corruption level.

The European Union gives loans to Lebanon, and then the only entity controlling what is done
with the loan is the Council for Development and Reconstruction. No independent organization
checks what is done with this money — it is a political problem.”

In addition to waste and muddy water are also some of the causes of pollution, as well as
encroachment on public spaces through tourist activities, the presence of restaurants on river
banks and the use of pesticides.

Safaa Baydoun, a researcher on water science at Beirut Arab University who worked as a
researcher on the Litani River, Lake Qaraoun and the upper Litani Basin (groundwater) states

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that high levels of dissolved salts, very low levels of dissolved oxygen necessary for the river's
aquatic life and very high levels of toxic ammonia and phosphates are exceeding by many folds
the criteria for short- or long-term exposure in healthy water bodies.
She added, “High levels of organic pollutants are also found. Domestic sewage and the overuse
of fertilizers by farmers accompanied by runoffs are the underlying causes for the high levels of
pollutants. This increased availability of nitrogen and phosphorus can cause excessive growth of
algae, which in turn can disrupt the aquatic biological equilibrium leading to the oxygen depletion
death of fish and amphibians and a drop in the biodiversity of aquatic plants. This phenomenon is
called eutrophication.

Types of water pollution sources:

There are also two different ways in which pollution can occur. If pollution
comes from a single location, such as a discharge pipe attached to a factory, it
is known as point-source pollution. Other examples of point source pollution
include an oil spill from a tanker, a discharge from a smoke stack (factory
chimney), or someone pouring oil from their car down a drain. A great deal of
water pollution happens not from one single source but from many different
scattered sources. This is called nonpoint-source pollution.

When point-source pollution enters the environment, the place most affected
is usually the area immediately around the source. For example, when a tanker
accident occurs, the oil slick is concentrated around the tanker itself and, in the
right ocean conditions, the pollution disperses the further away.

Effects of Water Pollution:

water pollution has a great impact on the environment. 

1-Deteriorating water quality is stalling economic growth

and exacerbating poverty in many countries". The
explanation is that, when biological oxygen demand, the
indicator that measures the organic pollution found in
water, exceeds a certain threshold, the growth in the
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the regions within the
associated water basins falls by a third. In addition, here
are some of the other consequences:

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Figure4 Point/non-point source

  Destruction of biodiversity: The disappearance of biodiversity and aquatic
ecosystems.

 Contamination of the food chain :Fishing in polluted waters and the use of waste water
for livestock farming and agriculture can introduce toxins into foods which are harmful to
our health when eaten.

 Lack of potable water :The UN says that billions of people around the world have no
access to clean water to drink or sanitation, particularly in rural areas.

 Disease. The WHO estimates that about 2 billion people have no option but to drink
water contaminated by excrement, exposing them to diseases such as cholera, hepatitis A
and dysentery.

 Infant mortality. According to the UN, diarrhoeal diseases linked to lack of hygiene

cause the death of about 1,000 children a day worldwide.

In QARAOUN, Lebanon, April 30 (Reuters) ,Tones of dead fish have washed up on the
banks of a lake on Lebanon's Litani river, engulfing a nearby village in a pungent smell, in
a disaster blamed on polluted waters.

Piles of garbage drifted in the lake near the dead fish. Swarms of flies spread near the
reservoir and thousands of fish were decomposing in already dirty waters.At least 40
tones have turned up dead in a few days.

The river authority stated that the fish were toxic and carried a virus, urging people to
avoid fishing all along the Litani due to "an aggravated disaster that threatens public
health".

Water pollution may cause a large variety of diseases and poses a serious problem for
human health. This is mainly because we may get exposed to polluted water in various
ways :

 Drinking 
 Bathing or
 Swimming 

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  Breathing the vapors of a polluted water while sitting next to a polluted water
source
 Consuming polluted food (meat and/or vegetables) affected by polluted water
 Consuming meat from animals fed with polluted water of food affected by polluted
water (e.g. vegetables irrigated with polluted water or grown in an area with
polluted groundwater)

The health of Lebanese people is directly threatened. “Since 2005, the

national epidemiological surveillance program at the Ministry of Public Health has
registered significant increasing trends in notifiable water and foodborne diseases
and has recorded the following data :

Number of recorded cases in Beka'a and Beirut

100% 45
90% 122
112 74
80%
70%
60%
50% 243
40% 2068
281 909
30%
20%
10%
0%
2005
2010
2014
2016

Bekaa Beirut

Figure 5.1

There are many examples can be illustrated to expose the current

situation on the deteriorated water quality in Lebanon. Below are some
example:

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 1. The analysis of selective water samples from the Litani River
shows:
o Nitrite (NO2) 19 ppm (max. 0.1 ppm)
o Chromium (Cr3+) 0.27 (max. 0.05 ppm)
o Staphylococcus 8750 (0 in 100 ml)
o Total coliform 183,000 (0 in 100 ml)
o Fecal coliform 180,000 (0 in 250 ml).

2. The analysis of water quality the Qaraaoun Reservoir shows:

Sodium (Na): 10 mg/l (WHO max. 200 mg/l)
o Chromium (Cr) 0.02 mg/l (WHO max. 0.05 mg/l)
o Zinc (Zn) 0.09 mg/l (WHO max. 3 mg/l)
o Copper (Cu) 0.019 mg/l (WHO max. 2 mg/l)
o Cylindrospermopsin toxin 1.7 μg/L (WHO guidelines 0.7 μg/l)
o Cyanobacteria up to 200 μg/l (WHO limits 10 μg/l)
o Carlson trophic state index 66 to 84 (CTSI max. 40).

The link between Water pollution and climatic impact:

Human activity affects weather,
climate, and the environment. While
some of human activities are
harmless, others damage the
environment. While the
environment can absorb some abuse
without long-term effects, much
harmful human activity exceeds the
environment’s capacity to recover.

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 Water pollution is one of the inevitable human-induced climate
change issues that called for urgent remedial
Figure 5.2
measures. Water pollution will in no small measure
affect or alter the basic water quality parameters comprising the
micro-pollutants, physiochemical, and biological parameters
.Probable and incessant changes in both rainfall and air
temperature has the capacity to affect river flow thereby inducing
chemical reaction kinetics as well as drop in the freshwater
ecological quality. Associated with such process are dilution of
contaminants and water sediment loads, which when ran into lakes
will alter its natural features and affect its inhabitants. This form of
water pollution or through man-made toxic chemical or/and by-
products addition may therefore generate some toxic and
greenhouse gases, which may subsequently contribute to global
warming activities or more severe environmental threats.

The greenhouse gases are the gaseous constituents of the

atmosphere (both natural and anthropogenic), which can absorb
and emit radiation at certain wavelengths within the spectrum of
thermal infrared radiation emitted by the earth’s surface, the
atmosphere itself, and the clouds. The primary greenhouse gases in
the Earth’s atmosphere include carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide
(N2O), water vapor (H2O), methane (CH4), and ozone (O3). The other
ones identified from the Kyoto Protocol include hydrofluorocarbons
(HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6).
Some of these environmental threats include earth’s temperature
enhancement (as earlier stated), lowering of atmospheric air
quality, and killing of aquatic animals. Consequently, given the
legacy of historic greenhouse gas emissions and the prospect of
inevitable climate change, one cannot but commit significant
financial and technical resources to remediating the effect through
rigorous research efforts and sensitization activities, more
importantly to water pollution and water-related issues. Thus,

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water resources managers are continuously and increasingly
looking for information on the possible changes in hydrological
regimes, which may arise in the next few decades for likeable
adaptation measure plan .

The following figures show data that were collected in Lebanon to

reveal the direct link between surface water pollution and climatic
changes:

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 Figure 5.5

Figure 5.4

Figure 5.7 Figure 5.6

Figure 5.3

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Disease caused by Surface water pollution:
Waterborne pathogens, in the form of disease-causing bacteria and viruses from human
and animal waste, are a major cause of illness from contaminated drinking water.
Diseases spread by unsafe water include cholera, giardia, and typhoid

The most common water pollution diseases involve poisoning episodes affecting the

digestive system and/or causing human infectious diseases, water pollution may cause
a large variety of health diseases including: 
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 Infectious diseases caused by pathogens (usually microorganisms) from animal fecal
origins, of which the most common occur in developing countries, including:
o Typhoid
o Giardiasis
o Amoebiasis
o Ascariasis
o Hookworm
 Diseases caused by polluted beach water, including:
o Gastroenteritis
o Diarrhea
o Encephalitis
o Stomach cramps and aches
o Vomiting
o Hepatitis
o Respiratory infections
 Liver damage and even cancer (due to DNA damage) – caused by a series of
chemicals (e.g., chlorinated solvents, MTBE)
 Kidney damage caused by a series of chemicals

 Neurological problems - Figure 6 percentages of diseases

damage to the nervous system
– usually due to the presence of chemicals such as pesticides (e.g. DDT)
 Reproductive and endocrine damage including interrupted sexual development,
inability to breed, degraded immune function, decreased fertility and increase in
some types of cancers – caused by a series of chemicals including endocrine
disruptors
 Thyroid system disorders (a common cause is exposure to perchlorate, which is a
chemical contaminating large water bodies such as the Colorado River)
 Increased water pollution creates breeding grounds for malaria-carrying
mosquitoes, which kill 1.2-2.7 million people a year
 A series of less serious health effects could be associated to bathing in
contaminated water (i.e. polluted beach water) including:

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 o Rashes
o Earaches
o Pink eyes

Water pollution can affect us:

 Directly – through consumption or bathing in a polluted stream (such as

consumption of municipal water, as well as bathing in polluted lakes or beach
water).
 Indirectly – through the consumption of vegetables irrigated with contaminated
water, as well as of fish or other animals that live in the polluted water or consume
animals grown in the polluted water. This is many times more dangerous than being
directly affected through consumption of water, because some pollutants
bioaccumulate in fish and living organisms (their concentration in fish could be
several orders of magnitude higher than their water concentration). Additionally,
the toxins from the brown tide are strong and can travel via air, affecting
homeowners close to the beach.

Suggested treatment systems for Polluted Surface water

In Lebanon:
A portion of Lebanese people have been coerced to using dirty water daily. Fresh water is being
contaminated by sewage, showing traces of mercury, salmonella, and E-coli. This is mainly due to
the absence of a sewage system and the leakage to rivers, lakes, and groundwater.
The government has failed to provide more than 35% of the demand.
Selection of the appropriate technology for treatment and disposal of wastewater requires an in-
depth assessment of the expected objectives. Technical and financial constraints are to be
considered in the evaluation of alternative methods.

A medium and long-term remedial action must take the following into consideration:

 Given that in Lebanon sectors operate independently, it is important to develop an

integrated coastal zone management.

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  Quality and quantity of fresh water sources need to be managed sustainably. In this
perspective domestic water sources (aquifers, springs, wells, or surface-water) will be
protected against contamination by wastewater, and conditions for water-based
recreation (swimming, boating, and fishing) will be enhanced by improvements in water
quality and control of marine disposal.

 Development of interim national guidelines and standards of treated wastewater and

sludge re-use policies in agriculture. This will be conducted in coordination with the
designated ministries (MoE, MoWE, MoA, MoPH) and interested stakeholders.

 Water conservation by reuse, aquifer recharge, or industrial reuse of treated effluent

should be practiced where it is cost-effective and water resources are otherwise
inadequate. Irrigation of agricultural lands by wastewater should be promoted provided
water quality is monitored and health standards are maintained.

 Compliance with the Mediterranean Pollution Commitments (Barcelona Convention).

 The MoEW should be able to get together under one roof all stakeholders for periodic
consultation and complementarity. This will require a public/private partnership
including NGOs and involvement of the media.

Wastewater treatment main advantage :

The opportunity to reuse for effluent and sludge in agriculture and silviculture. Furthermore,
negative impacts resulting from the plant operations are reduced by keeping the plant far away
from urban agglomerations.

The disadvantages include:

odor nuisance and visual impact. Mitigation measures include tree planting along the
conveyance structures.

Sludge disposal by incineration and land filling is very costly. Application of sludge in
agriculture as a fertilizer and amendment is the preferred method due to the sludge agronomic
value and the economic savings in disposal. The potential for effluent and sludge reuse in
agriculture revealed that nitrogen content is considerable. Therefore, considering that the cost of
applying commercial fertilizers is more economical and has more agronomic value, it is
recommended that the sludge be provided to the farmers at no cost initially.

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Figure 7.1

21
Figure 7.2

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Figure 7.3 Standards of Environmental Limit Values

PREVENTION OF WATER POLLUTION:

Half of the world's inhabitants will live in water-scarce areas by 2025, so every drop of
polluted water today is an irreparable loss for tomorrow. That's why we must prevent
water pollution with measures like the following:

 Reduce CO2 emissions to prevent global warming and acidification of the oceans.

 Reduce the use of chemical pesticides and nutrients on crops.

 Reduce and safely treat wastewater so that, as well as not polluting, it can be reused for
irrigation and energy production.

 Restrict the use of single-use plastics that end up floating in rivers, lakes and oceans, many
as microplastics.

 Encourage sustainable fishing to ensure the survival of species and avoid depletion of the seas.

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Conclusion:

     In conclusion, extreme measures must be taken as soon as possible in order to make
every Lebanese citizen aware of the crucial corrupting condition of one of the most
beautiful countries in the world. The Lebanese government must take action at once, by
focusing everyone's attention to save the country. Gathering groups, creating
advertisements, banners, or slogans could do this. Officers and police must be put on
watch at all times and fine people who try to corrupt the beauty of Lebanon. We all must
learn and eventually work together as one to vanquish the corruption, and to conserve
the natural image of our country.

References :
http://limslb.com/en/policy-research/water-giving-
a-fresh-solution-to-lebanons-water-pollution/

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Standards-of-
Environmental-Limit-Values-ELV-for-wastewater-
discharges-into-surface_tbl6_249967889

https://www.al-
monitor.com/originals/2017/07/lebanon-water-
pollution-garbage-crisis.html
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https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/58138

https://thearabweekly.com/sea-pollution-lebanon-
approaching-dangerous-levels

https://warmheartworldwide.org/climate-change/?
gclid=EAIaIQobChMIidy3l9G69AIVAIxoCR3SNQm
wEAAYASAAEgKmfvD_BwE

https://www.climatecentre.org/wp-
content/uploads/RCCC-ICRC-Country-profiles-
Lebanon.pdf

https://books.openedition.org/ifpo/13268

https://www.nrdc.org/stories/water-pollution-
everything-you-need-know

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https://borgenproject.org/sanitation-in-lebanon/

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