This research was carried out during 2014 - 2015. The research aimd to describe
some chemical characteristics of the river's water used for irrigation, chemically compare it
with the Syrian Standards Specifications in terms of salt quantity and qua
lity and Cd and B
concentrations, water samples were taken from four observation points along the river:
A (domestic), B (industrial), C (mixed) and D (estuary), also Soil samples from the river
edges were also analyzed. The findings revealed that the EC value in B was 0.61 mg/l i.e.
less than those of others, with significant difference 0.72, 0.74, 0.73 mg/l, respectively.
The study also showed a significant increase in B and C concentration by 0.48 and 0.49
mg/l, respectively, compared with A and D by 0.4 mg/l each. A significant increase in Cd
concentration was noticed for B, C and D by 0.73, 0.88 and 0.75 mg/l vs. A 0.67 mg/l.
However, Cd concentration in the river water in all seasons and sites was excessive and
higher than the permissible limit for water discharge into seas estimated at 0.05 mg/l,
whereas the other parameters were lower than the permissible limits according to the
Syrian Standards. The effect of water pollution on soil showed a significant increase in EC
for B by 1.01 dS/m than others. The increase was also more significant in subsurface layer
than surface one by 0.45 and 0.62 dS/m, respectively. In addition, the findings
demonstrated a significant increase in Cd for C (2.67 mg/kg) than other points. The
increase in Cd concentration was more significant in the surface layer (2.648 mg/kg) than
the subsurface one (2.631 mg/kg), and this concentration was lower than the normal range
of soil content from Cd (3 ppm).
