Water consumption has developed greatly since 1948, due to many reasons:

1. The Situation:
   1. We are unable to control our water resources & underground wells

   2. Applying restrictions that forbid the digging of wells & the pump of underground water.

   3. The sewage , which causes the pollution of drinking water & the appearance of many diseases & problems related to it.

   4. The specifications & limitation of water which is allowed to be used.

   5. The convert of water resources that supply the Jordan River, this led to the decrease of the Dead Sea level, which is one of the richest seas in the world with its salts & minerals.

2. The rapid increases in the number of people & the decrease of rainfall average.
3. The increase of the average of temperature, which causes more evaporation, this leads to the lack of water in our country.
4. The primitive ways, in which our wastes are disposed either in water or buried underground, which causes many pollution problems.
5. The collection of rainwater in open swamps, this gathers insects & parasites which carry diseases.

** Diseases that are associated with water or reclaimed wastewater may be grouped in five main categories:

1. Waterborne Diseases, such as Typhoid Fever, Cholera, Dysentery.
2. Water-Washed Diseases, such as Leprosy, Skin Sepsis
3. Water-Based Diseases for example, Tape Worm, Guinea Worm.
4. Water-Related Insect Vectors, example, Sleeping Sickness, Yellow Fever, Malaria
5. Infection primarily due to infective sanitation, such as Hookworm, Roundworm.

* Five environmental problems related to the study:

Rivers & Human Beings

*Problems:

1. A problem which doesn't only affect our region but almost all over the world, which is the increase of evaporation process, this causes the loss of large amounts of water from our seas, rivers & lakes, this also increases the ratio of salts in water which makes it less efficient for daily use.

2. Underground wells are exposed to real pollution, this is by many ways; First of all our misuse of agricultural fertilizers, secondly the chemical wastes thrown by factories carelessly, so that they can be transferred to the underground wells after being released with rainwater.

3. One Palestinian citizen gets a very little amount of water since the control of water recourses out of our hands.

4. People who are not concerned to environmental issues do not usually think about water as a treasure, although the citizen gets a small amount of water because of political problems, but on the other hand most of the people use water carelessly without thinking that one day we may suffer from dryness.

*Solutions:

1. The use of natural fertilizers instead of chemical ones
2. Observing the agreements signed about water division between the two parties.
3. Guidance projects are essential to make people conscious about the ways of consuming with no immoderation.
4. Monitoring the manufactories in order to prevent their dispose in harmful ways

*References:

• Ministry of Environment
• Internet:
  • www.pna.net
  • www.aljazeera.net
• Ministry of Health
• Ministry of Agriculture
• Aqel,Suzan \Water in West Bank
• Ernest Jawetz, Joseph L. Melnick\ Review of Medical Microbiology