Heavy Metals in water and sediments of King talal Dam the largest Man-Made water Body in Jordan Abualhaija Mahmoud M.1, Shammout Maisa'a W.1, Mohammad Alsharifa-Hind.1, Hilal Ahmed H. Abu2 1Water Energy and Environment Center, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan 2Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan Online published on 7 September, 2019. Abstract Sediment and water samples were collected from three different sites in King Talal Dam (KTD): site 1 (near the entrance of the dam), site 2 (within the deepest area of the dam) and site 3 (near the outlet point of the dam). Water samples were collected from two depths; surface and near-bottom, during all seasons of the year. Sediment samples were collected during summer and winter seasons. Sediment and water samples were analyzed for Iron-(Fe), Manganese-(Mn), Copper-(Cu), Chromium-(Cr), Nickel-(Ni), Lead-(Pb), Zinc-(Zn), and Cadmium(Cd). The concentrations of heavy metals in water showed spatial and temporal variations. Nevertheless, all heavy metals except Zn and Fe exhibited significant differences between seasons and non-significant differences between depths and between sites. In general, heavy metal concentrations in the sediments were higher than their concentrations in water. Heavy metals in sediments showed a corresponding spatial decrease trend in their concentrations from site 1 near the entrance of the dam toward its exit point (outlet) (site 3). The fine fraction (<63μm) has higher concentrations of heavy metals compared to the larger size fractions, which can be attributed to the large surface area and high organic matter in the fine fraction. In the water, metal concentrations were in the order: Ni>Fe>Cu>Pb>Mn>Cr> Zn>Cd, whereas in sediments, the order was: Fe>Mn>Ni>Zn>Cr>Pb >Cu>Cd. The concentrations of all heavy metals in the dam water lie within the safe limits for irrigation quality (FAO: (Ayers and Westcot 1985)) and within the Jordanian allowable limits for the use of reclaimed water (JSMO 2006). Top Keywords Heavy Metals, Water, Sediments, King Talal Dam, Jordan. Top |