HYDROGEOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE UNDERGROUND WATER SYSTEM IN THE EL MARJ PLAIN: The Source of Dardara April, 2012 HYDROGEOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE UNDERGROUND WATER SYSTEM IN THE EL MARJ PLAIN: THE SOURCE OF THE DARDARA SPRING First Interim Report May 20, 2012 By: Issam Bou Jaoude To: FAO 1 HYDROGEOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE UNDERGROUND WATER SYSTEM IN THE EL MARJ PLAIN: The Source of Dardara April, 2012 List of Abbreviations BG below ground level BTD Bureau Technique pour le Developpement FAO Food and Agriculture Organization Hr hour km kilometers l/s liters per second m meters m3 meter cubed masl meters above sea level µS micro siemens mS milli siemens mg/l milligrams per liters ppm parts per million ppt parts per thousand SBEB South Bekaa Eocene Basin SLWE South Lebanon Water Establishment TDS total dissolved solids UNDP United Nations Development Programme 2 HYDROGEOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE UNDERGROUND WATER SYSTEM IN THE EL MARJ PLAIN: The Source of Dardara April, 2012 Table of Contents List of Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................... 2 List of Figures .......................................................................................................................................... 5 List of Table ............................................................................................................................................. 6 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 7 2 LOCATION ........................................................................................................................................ 7 2.1 Southern Bekaa Eocene Basin (SBEB) ..................................................................................... 8 2.2 The el Marj plain zone ............................................................................................................. 9 3 HYDROLOGICAL SETTING .............................................................................................................. 11 3.1 Hydrological setting of the SBEB ........................................................................................... 11 3.2 Hydrological setting of the el Marj plain ............................................................................... 13 4 GEOLOGICAL / HYDROGEOLOGICAL SETTING ............................................................................... 14 4.1 The Geological / Hydrogeological Setting of the Southern Bekaa Eocene Basin (SBEB) ...... 14 4.1.1 Hydro‐stratigraphical setting of the SBEB ..................................................................... 14 4.1.2 Structural setting of the SBEB ....................................................................................... 18 4.1.3 Hydrogeological setting of the SBEB ............................................................................. 20 4.2 The Geological / Hydrogeological setting of el Marj plain .................................................... 23 4.2.1 Hydrostratigraphical Setting of el Marj Plain ................................................................ 23 4.2.2 Structural setting of the el Marj Plain ........................................................................... 25 4.2.3 Hydrogeological Setting of the el Marj Plain ................................................................ 28 5 PREVIOUS STUDIES ........................................................................................................................ 30 5.1 Studies on the Southern Bekaa Eocene Basin (SBEB) ........................................................... 30 5.1.1 Liban Etude Des Eaux Souterraines, United Nations Development Program (UNDP), 1970. 30 5.2 Water Management and Hydro‐Diplomacy in Lebanon, Comair, G. F. 2009. ...................... 32 5.3 Studies on the Dardara Spring / el Marj plain ....................................................................... 33 5.3.1 Project d’exploitation de l’aquifere des sources de Dardara et de Hammam caza de Marjayoun, BTD, 1983. ................................................................................................................. 33 5.4 The Dardara Water System in South Lebanon, Collaborative Planning Situational Analysis. United States Agency for International Development. 2002. ........................................................... 37 6 WELLS AND SPRINGS SURVEY ....................................................................................................... 37 6.1 Spring Survey ........................................................................................................................ 38 6.1.1 Dardara spring ............................................................................................................... 40 6.1.2 Hammam spring ............................................................................................................ 43 6.1.3 Other springs ................................................................................................................. 43 6.2 Well survey ............................................................................................................................ 44 3 HYDROGEOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE UNDERGROUND WATER SYSTEM IN THE EL MARJ PLAIN: The Source of Dardara April, 2012 7 PRECIPITATION DATA .................................................................................................................... 51 8 MONITORING PLAN ...................................................................................................................... 53 8.1 Basic plan .............................................................................................................................. 53 8.2 Advanced plan in case of additional funding ........................................................................ 54 9 ONGOING DATA COLLECTION AND ASSESSMENT ........................................................................ 56 10 References .................................................................................................................................... 57 APPENDICES .......................................................................................................................................... 58 APPENDIX 1 (Geological map of SBEB).............................................................................................. 59 APPENDIX 2 (Structural geological map of SBEB) ............................................................................. 60 APPENDIX 3 (El Marj plain zone geological and structural geology map) ........................................ 61 APPENDIX 4 (The cross‐sections of el Marj plain (1:20,000)) ........................................................... 62 APPENDIX 5 (Well survey) ................................................................................................................. 63 APPENDIX 6 (Spring survey) .............................................................................................................. 64 APPENDIX 7 (Data of Monitored wells) ............................................................................................ 65 APPENDIX 8 (Data of Monitored springs) ......................................................................................... 66 Appendix 9 (The Well and spring survey sheet) ............................................................................... 67 4 HYDROGEOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE UNDERGROUND WATER SYSTEM IN THE EL MARJ PLAIN: The Source of Dardara April, 2012 List of Figures Figure 1 Map of Lebanon showing the location of the two study zones. ............................................. 8 Figure 2 Map of el Marj plain showing the study area with the four cazas located around the plain. .............................................................................................................................................................. 10 Figure 3 A digital elevation model for the el Marj plain zone showing some elevations in and around the plain. ............................................................................................................................................... 11 Figure 4 Map of the main rivers that flow through the SBEB (delineated in white hatch) and their watersheds. ........................................................................................................................................... 12 Figure 5 The drainages and river watersheds of the el Marj plain zone. ............................................ 13 Figure 6 The west side of the el Marj plain showing the lithological boundary between the Abeih Formation (yellow rocks on the top of the high) and the Mdeirej Formation (center of the photo). 16 Figure 7 The lithological boundary between the Abeih Formation (yellow rocks on the left) and the Mdeirej Formation (lower right of the photo). East of the monastery of Kseir, on the west border of the el Marj plain showing the steep dips of the eastern limb of the Marjoeun anticline. ................... 17 Figure 8 The highly fractured Eocene Formation with a flower structure faulting clearly identified in its center (white arrow). This is the excepted location of were the mid Marj fault passes ................. 17 Figure 9 The Chekka Formation near Dibbine and Blat villages. ......................................................... 18 Figure 10 Structural setting of the SBEB