Water Quality of the Upper Litani River Basin, Lebanon

Water pollution is a major problem in Lebanon, which is has been exacerbated lately. However, surface water sources are most exploited, and more certainly the water from rivers. The Litani River has been lately subjected to several aspects of deterioration in its quality. This includes the major physiochemical characteristics. The aims of this study are to assess the seasonal variations in water quality in the Upper Litani River Basin, including the Qaraaoun Lake. The collected samples were from representative sites along the river, and this was carried out at several dates during 2010 and 2011. The carried analysis implies the physical (pH, T degrees, TDS, EC), chemicals (Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Cl-, SO42-, NH3+, NO3-, PO42-, K+, Heavy metals. This resulted numeric data are being compared with WHO guidelines. In addition, PCA was applied to evaluate the data accuracy. It can be conclude that the measured variables used are creditable for the assessment. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V.