Assessment of ground and surface water quality and its contamination

Ground and natural flow surface water are the dominant water resources in different parts of the Sultanate of Oman. The people of wilayat (town) Samail, Sultanate of Oman use both ground and surface water for their daily activities. Due to continuous exploitation of water resources and human activity, the quality of both ground and surface water getting deteriorated. In the present study, the ground and surface water quality were assessed by considering 32 water samples from wells and open channels (falaj) in the wilayat area. Various physical, chemical and biological parameters were analysed and compared with World Health Organization, Gulf Standard Organization and Omanistandards. The percentage of samples that are exceeding the standards were evaluated. The water samples were mostly non-saline, but majority of them were found to be contaminated with biological content. Total alkalinity, total hardness, nitrate, nitrite, magnesium in most of the water samples were found to be above the permissible limits of the standards. Sodium and salinity hazards were estimated under low and medium range for the majority of the water samples. Spatial distribution maps of each parameter in the sample region were presented using ArcGIS software. The possible sources of contamination and its effect on surrounding environment were discussed.