Review of Water Quality and Pollution in the Coastal Areas of Oman

Abstract

The environmental status of the Omani coastal areas was assessed based on studies conducted in the Sultanate of Oman over the past few years. This review examines all sorts of pollution and impacts over the coastal areas of Oman by reviewing papers and reports in order to provide an overview of the pollution status regarding salinity, heavy metals and petroleum hydrocarbons. This review covers environmental pollution related to groundwater, soil as well as marine and coastal water, their effect on biological systems and marine organisms. Emphasis is placed on salinity and marine pollution, especially on heavy metals and petroleum hydrocarbon contaminations. Further, total petroleum hydrocarbons and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were discussed in the biota and coastal sediments studied in the coast of Oman. This review provided information on severity of groundwater and soil salinity particularly along the Al-Batinah region and different concentrations of contaminated coastal areas from metals and oils. Finally, the review concludes with an outline of few sustainable management measures that could be considered for further assessment and evaluation towards the protection of the environment in the coastal areas of Oman.

Full text

Poll Res. 34 (2) : 229-239 (2015)
Copyright © EM International
ISSN 0257–8050
Article-33
Corresponding author e-mail: (B.S. Choudri) bchoudri@squ.edu.om
REVIEW OF WATER QUALITY AND POLLUTION IN COASTAL
AREAS OF OMAN
B.S. CHOUDRI
1
, MAHAD BAAWAIN
1
AND MUSHTAQUE AHMED
2
1
Center for Environmental Studies and Research (CESAR), Sultan Qaboos University, Oman
2
Department of Soils,
Water and Agricultural Engineering, College of Agriculture and Marine Sciences,
Sultan Qaboos University, Oman
(Received 4 April, 2015; accepted 14 May, 2015)
ABSTRACT
The environmental status of the Omani coastal areas was assessed based on studies conducted in
the Sultanate of Oman over the past few years. This review examines all sorts of pollution and
impacts over the coastal areas of Oman by reviewing papers and reports in order to provide an
overview of the pollution status regarding salinity, heavy metals and petroleum hydrocarbons.
This review covers environmental pollution related to groundwater, soil as well as marine and
coastal water, their effect on biological systems and marine organisms. Emphasis is placed on
salinity and marine pollution, especially on heavy metals and petroleum hydrocarbon
contaminations. Further, total petroleum hydrocarbons and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were
discussed in the biota and coastal sediments studied in the coast of Oman. This review provided
information on severity of groundwater and soil salinity particularly along the Al-Batinah region
and different concentrations of contaminated coastal areas from metals and oils. Finally, the review
concludes with an outline of few sustainable management measures that could be considered for
further assessment and evaluation towards the protection of the environment in the coastal areas
of Oman.
KEY WORDS : Coastal Area, groundwater, soil, salinity, hydrocarbons, heavy metals,
marine pollution
INTRODUCTION
The coastal areas of Oman (Fig. 1) encompasses a
number of habitats that include coral reefs,
mangroves, wetlands, and beautiful beaches along
with intensive coastal agriculture (MECA, 2010). In
addition, being essential these areas also provide
linkages in the overall functioning of the coastal area
and support various resources both living and
nonliving (Salim, 2002). Importantly, for
generations, the coastal area of Oman provided life
support to coastal communities where activities
such as fisheries and related activities have played
an essential role in shaping the social and economic
development of local communities (Siddeek et al.,
1999). Over the recent years, the emergence of
active ports, coastal tourism related projects,
industrial activity, intensive agriculture and
urbanization have emerged as being among the
most important national economic activities
(MECA, 2010, Ahmed and Choudri, 2012). The
well-being of these natural habitats and resources
and the various activities taking place within or near
the coast and coastal waters depend to a large
extent, on the quality of good water for land based
activities and marine life (UNEP, 2006). However,
the pressures of expanding coastal populations and
emerging industrial activities are exerting on the
coast and coastal waters, thereby negatively
affecting groundwater, coastal water quality and
marine life as a result of coastal pollution which is
increasingly becoming a major issue in the coastal
areas of Oman (Van Lavieren et al., 2011).
The land-based activities such as agriculture,
industry, and mineral exploitation have widely
contributed to the degradation of coastal water

230 CHOUDRI ET AL
quality (Salim, 2002). It is well known that seafood
from the Sea of Oman including fish and shrimp is
of greater value for both local consumption and
earnings from the export. Having such importance,
it is necessary to maintain good marine
environmental quality which is crucial for several
socio- economic reasons (Price et al., 1993). Further,
quality of seawater issues is of extreme importance
due to the fact that many of the Gulf countries
depend on desalinated seawater as a valuable
source of potable water for industrial as well as
domestic use. It is imperative to mention that the oil
spill associated with Gulf War in the year 1991 was
considered the largest oil spill in the history and
number of studies focused on the fate of this spill
and provided evidence that the oil spill effect was
limited to 400 km from the spillage point to Saudi
Arabian coastline and that the main contaminants
were rapidly degraded (de Mora et al., 2010). The
following review is divided into coastal
groundwater and soil quality, debries and plastics
on the beaches and pollution of marine and
seawater in the coastal areas of Oman. Therefore,
this review will have focus on salinity, heavy metals
and hydrocarbons which aims to provide
information on locations, their levels and sources as
well as distributions in water, sediments and biota.
The present review examines a number of papers,
monitored data and project reports that have been
undertaken over the past two decades in the coastal
areas of Oman which would provide valuable
baseline information for future assessment and
monitoring.
GROUNDWATER QUALITY AND SALINITY
In the coastal area, water resources are increasingly
under pressure due to overexploitation in view of
population growth, activities related to
development as well as environmental degradation
(Choudri et al., 2015). Development activities have
created serious challenges for policy makers and
planners towards ensuring long-term sustainability
and demand, especially vulnerable to saltwater
intrusion through overexploitation (Worldbank,
1996).
Al-Rawas and Valeo (2012) studied the
groundwater quality using spatial data analysis
with the aid of remote sensing and Geographic
Information Systems in the A’Seeb area and the
analysis of groundwater in A’Seeb found high levels
of salinity in some areas as well as higher
concentration levels of nitrate (NO
3
) and electrical
conductivity (EC) that exceeded the Omani
standards for drinking water. The concentrations of
high NO
3
values attributed to be closely linked to
the populated or residential areas (where the septic
tanks are used) while higher values of EC were
found to be associated with wells located on the
farms. The water qualities of all wells studied in
A’Seeb were found to be unsuitable for drinking
water according to Omani standards.
Stranger (1985) monitored consequent effects of
saline upconing and intrusion by repeated electrical
conductivity surveys over a period of 9 years in the
catchments of Wadi Samail and Wadi Rusayl, the
study found severe salinization of water due to
overexploitation and concluded that if groundwater
extraction is to be increased, the water balance alone
may be an insufficient basis for water resources
management.
Salinity spreading influence stress on the
farmlands in the Wilayat of Sur, Sharqiyah along the
coastal strip of Oman was investigated within the
distance of 6 kms from the coast by analyzing water
quality of farm wells (Victor and Al-Farsi, 2001). The
study found that irrigation water having high
salinity attributed to be the cause of degradation of
water quality and expansion of farms had increased
water extraction considered as factors for increase in
salinization in the area which had unacceptable
Fig. 1. Location map of Oman

REVIEW OF WATER QUALITY AND POLLUTION IN COASTAL AREAS OF OMAN 231
quality by international standards.
Al-Belushi (2003) presented different
groundwater salinity mapping for different
catchment locations in Al-Batinah area along the
coast using the 1992 survey data on water quality
conducted by the Ministry of Water Resources,
concluded that water in coastal areas of Al- Batinah
governorates has been affected severely by seawater
intrusion. Further, this study found a relationship
between the water salinity and soil salinity resulting
from the irrigation practices followed in these
governorates.
In another study, a thorough quality assessment
of groundwater across different governorates from
the north to south of Oman including Al-Batinah
governorate was conducted by analyzing 20,000
wells and prepared quality maps using geographic
information system (Bajjali, 2003). It can be noticed
from the maps, Al-Batinah coastal governate
groundwater is the most affected area by salinities
ranging from 4000 - 35,000 mg/L.
Al-Barwani and Helmi (2006) used Geographical
Information Systems (GIS) and AutoCAD
techniques in the coastal area of Al Batinah to map
groundwater salinity levels based on water,
electrical conductivity surveys, data of about 20
years since 1984 that was undertaken by the
Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water
Resources (formerly known as Ministry of Water
Resources). It was found that 7 percent of lands
suitable for agriculture have been affected by
salinization in the period between 2000 and 2005.
This study also reported that the saline water moved
12 km towards inland in areas like Barka.
A DRASTIC vulnerability index method in GIS
environment was used to map groundwater
resources in the Barka region (Jamrah et al., 2008).
DRASTIC vulnerability maps prepared for the years
1995 and 2004 indicate that the northern part of
Barka an important control area in Batinah , is more
vulnerable to pollution than southern part and the
central part of Barka also shows high relative
vulnerability which is mostly related to the high
conductivity values. In addition to this, regional
distribution maps prepared for nitrate, chloride and
total fecal Coliforms are well correlated with
DRASTIC vulnerability maps.
Above studies on groundwater salinity can be
well supported by the data on salinity monitored by
the Ministry of Regional Municipality and Water
Resources in the Al-Batinah region over the last two
decades. The salinity data observed in the years
1991, 1993, 2005, 2010 are provided in the Table 1
and Figure 2 (MRMWR, 2013). It can be noticed
Table 1. Location of Salinity Monitoring wells in the Al-Batinah region, Oman with observed salinity in years 1991,
1993, 2005 and 2010.
Salinity Location Observed Salinity concentration (ppm)
Monitoring Easting Northing 1991 1993 2005 2010
Well ID
N-101 578701 2621460 1504 1632 2112 3072
N-92 582083 2620091 839 833 835 849
T-52 584162 2622750 1606 2214 8262 12288
N-79 585655 2617956 800 931 1280 1798
B-49 586184 2622605 7379 8896 8979 9126
T-30 591740 2621062 9280 9421 10682 14784
N-107 575993 2623943 1187 1112 5114 10432
B-70 571376 2627585 5440 6573 6144 11520
B-73 572962 2627174 7571 7424 8800 9728
B-83 568271 2628276 8410 6298 9600 12160
T-46 585991 2621972 6720 7507 13120 16576
N-63 590404 2619803 1382 1312 5133 14656
B-31 594298 2620548 4032 4902 11494 11514
N-53 591385 2616842 1344 672 1293 1792
N-71 587411 2619729 1427 1267 1958 3590
N-111 568658 2623958 774 833 1760 1837
N-66 588832 2617526 2138 1760 1978 2323
T-85 569008 2627063 3994 3610 6278 8896
Source: MRMWR, 2013

232 CHOUDRI ET AL
from the monitored data, in most of the wells, the
salinity showed gradual increase (800 –16576 mg/L)
over the years from 1991 to 2010 and this trend may
continue in the coming years as well.
Soil and Salinity
In the years between 1990-1991, the Ministry of
Agriculture and Fisheries produced a general soil
map of Oman. This map determined and
documented high soil salinity levels in different
farms of Barka Wilayat. Again, in the years 1993 and
1997, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries
conducted two integrated studies in the Al-Batinah
governorates that indicated the high level of saline
soils in the south and northern part of the
governorates (MAF, 1990, 1993a, 1997).
Al-Belushi (2003) studied the main reasons
causing the desertification along the Al-Batinah
coast in which the study classified the soil types of
the area and showed how the characteristics of some
of these soils contributed to speeding the
desertification process. Another study was
conducted (Al-Mulla and Al-Adawi, 2009) through
mapping in the changes of soil salinity over the
period between 1991-2005 in Al-Rumais (near
Barka) with the application of remote sensing
analysis.
A study conducted in the year 2006, indicated
that about 1.56 M ha were affected by salinity
within suitable agricultural land and salt affected
area within unsuitable agriculture is 12.32 M ha of
the total geographical area of Oman (Hussain et al.,
2006). This study reported that the main causes of
salinity are the climatic conditions such as scanty
rainfall and high temperature, close proximity to the
sea, salty parent material and the development of
secondary salinity due to consistent usage of highly
saline water, particularly in coastal areas.
MARINE AND COASTAL POLLUTION
Seawater Quality
A study evaluated the concentrations of petroleum
hydrocarbons and organic carbon contents in the
Sea of Oman after the collision of Iranian Oil Tanker
during March 1994, in order to assess the
concentrations in July and November 1994, the
recovery of the marine environment after a period of
about 8 months (Mohammed, 1998). The results of
Fig. 1. Salinity concentration in Years (1991/1993/2005/2010) observed across coastal area of Al-Batinah (MRMWR,
2013)

REVIEW OF WATER QUALITY AND POLLUTION IN COASTAL AREAS OF OMAN 233
this evaluation indicated a significant decrease in the
concentration of petroleum hydrocarbons in
seawater and sediments as well as a decrease in
organic carbon contents of intertidal sediments,
attributed to the fact that oil pollution self-
purification processes have a vital role and it was
further observed that the decrease in the petroleum
hydrocarbon concentrations in seawater samples
measured in November 1994.
El Samira and El Deeb (1998) studied the
concentrations of oil along the zone of oil tanker
routes and the results showed a gradual change of
oil concentrations from around 27 ppb in the Sea of
Oman to concentrations around 22 ppb in the
Arabian Gulf. Importantly, the zone of coastal
waters showed lower values of oil concentrations
and the study highlighted the mechanisms of oil
pollutant transport in the two water bodies and the
effect of offshore oilfields as a fixed-point source of
oil pollution in the area with horizontal and vertical
scales.
A detailed measurement of water quality
parameters such as temperature, salinity,
chlorophyll-a, dissolved oxygen, turbidity and trace
metals in the coastal waters of Oman was
investigated in order to assess oil-related pollution
caused mainly due to ballast water (Sana, 2005). The
measured data for water quality suggested that the
concentration of dissolved oxygen in the coastal
waters of the Gulf of Oman is at a critical level and
any further decrease in the oxygen levels may put
marine life under serious threat.
In continuation of efforts to estimate oil inputs
from coastal refineries to the marine environment,
an assessment was conducted on Omanian refinery
and its adjacent waters (Awad et al., 1990b). The
study estimated that the refinery adds 160.4 tons of
crude oil wastes and refined products annually to
Mina Al Fahal waters in addition to 140 tons
discharged annually in the same area from the tank
drains. Further, analysis of oily water outfall
indicated a high factor of dilution: more than 200
times less than the concentration of oil in the
discharge itself.
Petroleum Hydrocarbons in Sediments and Biota
A study investigated the spatial distribution and
composition of aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons (PAHs) in biota and coastal sediments
of four countries including Oman in the Arabian
Gulf (Tolosa et al., 2005). This investigation found
that the levels of total petroleum hydrocarbons
(TPH), aliphatic unresolved mixture and PAHs in
sediments and biota were relatively low compared
to world-wide locations reported (Table 2). Further,
results showed some evidence of oil contamination
that was also apparent in sediments and bivalves
near Mirbat in Oman and attributed that to the
PAHs which were mainly from fossil sources.
The organotin contamination in marine
sediments and biota was assessed in the Arabian
Gulf (de Mora et al., 2003). This study classified three
regions in the Gulf are having tributylin (TBT)
contamination in the sediments, including Oman.
However the study concluded that organotin
species were considered relatively low in fish and
bivalves from the Gulf in comparison to global
standards and did not pose any immediate
problems to public health.
Various organochlorinated compound spatial
distribution was investigated in the Gulf and Sea of
Oman in the year 2005 for marine biota focused on
Table 2. Selected pollutant levels in relation to coastal and marine pollution, Oman.
Type of Media Reported concentrations Source
Sediments TBT (mean, 60 ng S
ng
-1
dry wt.) de Mora et al., 2004
MBT (mean, 9.7 ng S
ng
-1
dry wt.)
Fish liver As (mean, 9.6 µg g
-1
dry wt.) Tolosa et al., 2005
Rock oyster TPH equiv. (mean, 99 µg g
-1
dry wt.) Tolosa et al., 2005
´ PAHs (mean, 173 µg g
-1
dry wt.)
Abalone Cd (11–30 mg kg
-1
dry wt.) Fowler et al., 2010
Oyster TPH (mean, 572 µg g
-1
dry wt.) de Mora et al., 2010
Barnacles Pb (0.17-2,016.1 μg/g) Cd (0.4 - 147.1 μg/g) Amoozadeh et al., 2013
Oyester tissue Cd (mean, 2.64 to 3.80 mg kg
-1
) Yesudhason et al., 2013
Pb (mean, 0.009 to 0.02 mg kg
-1
)
TBT: tributyltin, TPH: total petroleum hydrocarbons, As: Arsenic, MBT: monobutyltin, PAHs: polcyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons, Cd: cadmium, Pb: lead

234 CHOUDRI ET AL
fish and various bivalves along with coastal
sediments collected during 2000 and 2001 (de Mora
et al., 2005). The results showed the concentrations of
dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDTs) were low in
the muscle and liver of all fish species analyzed
(Table 3). Similarly, the levels of chlorinated
hydrocarbon presence were low in the studied
bivalve species, particularly in rock oysters and
pearl oysters.
Aliphatic hydrocarbon residues were monitored
in two fish species, Indian mackerel (Rastrelliger
Kanaguria) and Indian scad (Decapterus russelli)
collected from local markets in three different cities
of Oman and residues were also monitored in
water samples collected from two sites on the Sea of
Oman (Ahmed et al., 1998). Results showed the
presence of petrogenic aliphatic hydrocarbons
ranging from C
12
–C
28
in fish and water samples.
Further, fish and water chromatograms were
characterized by an unresolved complex mixture
(UCM) indicated a sign of hydrocarbons originated
from petrogenic source and the residue level
showed some variations in concentration related to
sampling sites and time of sampling.
In order to assess the oil pollution in a part of the
Sea of Oman ecosystem, 5 economic species of fish,
surface waters and sediments were collected from
three different locations in the Sultanate of Oman
(Awad et al., 1990a). The analyzed results showed
high levels of contamination of total hydrocarbons
(THC) and polyaromatic hydrocarbon contents
(PAH) in all samples, especially in the area closer to
Hormuz Strait. This study concluded that a higher
concentration of THC and PAH was attributed due
to the dense illegal discharge of ballast waters down
this coast and the tankers are mostly empty upon
entering the Arabian Gulf.
Heavy Metals
Heavy metal concentration assessment study was
conducted for marine biota such as fish and various
bivalves in the Gulf and Sea of Oman during the
years 2000 and 2001 (de Mora et al., 2004). During
this study, the authors investigated heavy metals
content in two important fish species, namely the
orange spotted grouper (E. coioides, hamour) and the
spangled emperor (Lethrinus nebulosus, sheiry) in
which high concentration of cadmium (Cd) found
in the livers was attributed to food chain
bioaccumulation due to upwelling in the region.
Certain bivalve species such as P. radiata and
Saccostrea cucullata had high concentrations of
arsenic (As) that was attributed to natural origins
rather than anthropogenic contamination.
In benthic marine organisms, heavy metals,
organo chlorinated compound and petroleum
hydrocarbon concentrations were surveyed at the
same location in Dhofar, southern Oman in the years
1983 and 2002 in order to assess the possible
changes in contaminant levels (Fowler et al., 2007).
This study concluded that the residue levels of
petroleum in 2002 in species showed low to
moderate chronic oil contamination, but not higher
than the levels measured in the year 1983. Further, it
was indicated that total petroleum hydrocarbons,
chlorinated hydrocarbons and sum of
polychlorinated biphenyl as well as heavy metals
such as Hg, Cu, Cd, Pb and V levels were low in
both surveys, p, p
1
-dichloro-
diphenyldichloroethylene (pp
1
-DDE) increased in
2002 which may be due to the prior usage DDT. In
addition, 10 commercial marine fish species were
also measured for toxic metals collected across
seafood factories in Oman and obtained results
indicated concentration within safety limits
recommended by the various organizations.
A study was undertaken to investigate and
analyze the heavy metal concentrations in three
different ecological niches in order to compare the
degree of heavy metal infiltration and concentration
in sediments and fish along the Omani coast where
treated sewage effluent dumping sites are located
(Al-Musharafi et al., 2013). The authors found the
dominant heavy metals in fish were Ni, Cu, Pb and
Zn at permissible levels and concluded that there is
a heavy metal contamination in the marine
environment which originated from the source of
treated sewage effluents.
Yesudhason et al., (2013) studied the spatial and
temporal distribution of toxic metal concentrations
such as cadmium, mercury, and lead in the samples
of oyster tissues collected at monthly interval over a
period of 1 year across three locations mainly
Mirbat, Hadbeen and Sadah along the southern
coast of Oman. The results of this study found
highest accumulation of cadmium in oysters
followed by mercury and lead (Table 2). It was also
observed significant spatial variation in the
concentrations of metals particularly in S. cucullata
between three locations and temporal variations
increased with the concentration of cadmium for
samples collected in the rainy period, suggesting the
southwest monsoon and upwelling affected all 3
study sites.

REVIEW OF WATER QUALITY AND POLLUTION IN COASTAL AREAS OF OMAN 235
A comparison of cadmium and lead concen-
trations were done in ghost shrimps, barnacles,
polychaetes as well as bivalves and sediments
collected from ten different locations along the
intertidal zone of the Gulf and the Sea of Oman
(Amoozadeh et al., 2013). Based on the analyzed
data, the authors found significant differences in the
heavy metal concentrations between the organisms
with barnacles showing higher metal concentrations
and concluded that barnacles (Table 2) having lead
concentrations between 0.17 and 2,016.1 μg/g and
cadmium concentrations ranging from 0.4 to 147.1
μg/g are the best organisms which can be used in
monitoring and to assess pollution with bioavailable
metals in the Sea of Oman.
More recently, another study was conducted at
Mina Al Fahal in Sultanate of Oman to assess the
level of metal contamination and its impact on the
marine sediments in the vicinity of the Single Buoy
Moorings 3 (Al-Husaini et al., 2014). Under this
study, the marine subtidal sediments were analyzed
for their level and distribution of the heavy metals
such as cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), lead (Pb) and
vanadium (V), reported low concentrations of these
heavy metals in the marine sediments indicating
that the marine Single Buoy Mooorings 3 is of good
quality.
Beach Tar
In the capital area near Muscat, Sultanate of Oman,
a study was undertaken to measure beach tar
concentrations about 20 times at nine sites starting
from February 1993 to February 1995 (Coles and Al-
Riyami, 1995). The results of this measurement
showed that tar concentrations were highly variable
in space and time with averages of three transects at
each station ranging from 0 to 5 kg m
–1
of beach front
and the authors reported that this level of tar
pollution is among the highest previously measured
in the world as well as it is a greater amount than
was measured anywhere on the coastal areas of
Oman a decade ago.
Similarly, there are few other studies conducted
on the abundance of beach tar along the coast of
Oman in 1980 (Burns et al., 1982), 1985 to 1988
(Badawy and Al-Harthy, 1991) and 1990 (Badawy et
al., 1993), all of these studies determined that tar
concentrations on some Omani beaches ranked
among the highest reported in the world. These
studies also highlighted that the abundance of beach
tar was much more in the vicinity of the Strait of
Hormuz and the northern Sea of Oman than further
south, indicating that the principal source of spilled
oil was the discharge of oily ballast water from
tankers approaching the Strait.
Debris and Plastics
A Study conducted to provide an assessment of the
abundance, distribution, potential sources and
significance of industrial plastic on the western
beaches of the United Arab Emirates on the Arabian
Gulf and on the eastern beaches on the Sea of Oman
(Khordagui and Abu-Hilal, 1994). The authors
found that the highly uneven abundance of
stranded plastic pellets when compared to the west
coast of the Arabian Gulf and exhibited much lower
levels of plastic pellets in the east coast on the Sea of
Oman. Further, the study concluded that the
beaches of United Arab Emirates bordered to Oman
are considered to be heavily polluted with industrial
plastic when compared to other parts of the world.
One of the study related to beach debris which
focused on studying the abundance and weight of
beach debris across 11 beaches along the coast of
Oman (Claereboudt, 2004). This study reported,
overall contaminations of debris ranged from 0.43 to
6.01 items m
-1
of beach front across studied beaches
with a mean value
of 1.79 ± 1.04 g m
–1
.
Further, it is
reported that there were notable differences between
studied beaches in the abundance of debris
generated by the fishing and recreational related
activities. Most of the debris seen along the coast
had originated from the localized activities mainly
from beach recreational and fishing whereas fishing
debris represented the highest proportion in terms
of their weight.
SALINITY MANAGEMENT IN OMAN
Salinity is a major groundwater quality issue,
particularly in Al-Batinah region of Oman and it has
increased in some regions due to continued pressure
from increased extractions and poor irrigation
practices. Monitoring of groundwater quality in
Oman appears limited and is carried out in an adhoc
manner. There is no consistent national program on
groundwater quality monitoring and much of the
monitoring has been short term therefore it is
difficult to ascertain long-term trends. Regarding
salinity management, Ministry of Agriculture and
Fisheries (2012) has already developed salinity
management strategy and suggested a number of
measures that can be employed as combination of
tactical measures considering regulation, economic

236 CHOUDRI ET AL
and financial incentives, public goods and capacity
building.
POLLUTANTS AND POSSIBLE IMPACTS
It is reported that many organic chemicals such as
tributylin (TBT), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
and petroleum hydrocarbon were high organic
contaminants in the present review based on the
research papers published over the last two decades
focused on the coastal areas of Oman. The review
also indicated that over the last few years, the
studies have been using high quality monitoring
techniques which are an improvement in the area of
detecting petroleum hydrocarbon concentrations in
coastal water, sediment and biota. Overall, the
information collected from the reviewed papers can
be considered as a comprehensive review of the
existing status of likely areas in Oman are
vulnerable to oil pollution incidence. Therefore, this
review would allow an efficient use of the compiled
information for future assessment of these
contaminants in the coastal areas of Oman
particularly in the area around Mina al Fahal since
many of the petroleum related activities take place
in terms of loading, stacking and refining besides at
this point coastal waters receiving oil wastes from
various sources such as water from the tank drains,
processed water from refineries and ballast waters
(Burns et al., 1982).
Besides, petroleum hydrocarbons, review
showed that the presence of heavy metals in the
coastal water, sediments and biota in limited
amounts which are non-toxic and non-degradable
naturally occurring free elements. According to
Goldberg (1995), heavy metals enter the marine and
coastal environment in large quantities as
concentrated through different sources such as
domestic and sewage effluent. However, the cationic
forms of heavy metals are dangerous to living
organism since their capacity to bind with short
carbon chains and once bioaccumulate in protein
rich tissues such as liver and muscles of marine
organisms which eventually find its way into the
human food chain over a period of time and cause
harmful effects through the interference of metabolic
process (Davies, 1978). The studies reviewed under
this work, particularly the paper which examined
marine pollution in the Sea of Oman (de Mora et al.,
2004) based on sediment quality and local seafood
quality with respect to metal contamination have
concluded that metals concentrations are lower in
general or below the ranges previously reported in
the area (Flower et al., 1993) except for some
localized areas of chronic contamination which
would require monitoring strategies.
CONCLUSION
The Sultanate of Oman is the second largest country
in the Arabian Peninsula having a coastline which
extends for some 1700 km with a number of islands
offshore and unique ecosystems that are vulnerable
to disturbances from anthropogenic activities.
Intensive urbanization, tourism and other
development activities subject to changing physical
processes causing significant natural environment
modifications and such changes been seen over the
last few years and there are increased challenges to
environmental management and conservation
efforts. A brief summary of each of above issues is
provided below along with the recommendations
needed for further improvement and sustainability.
Groundwater Quality and Salinity: The main areas
in the sultanate covered in the review are; Muscat,
Barka, Al-Seeb, Al-Suwaiq, Sohar, Al-Musannah,
Saham, Sur, Bowsher, Samail, A Dhahira region and
Salalah. Salinity is a major groundwater quality
issue, particularly in Al-Batinah region of Oman and
it has increased in some regions due to continued
pressure from increased extractions and poor
irrigation practices. Monitoring of groundwater
quality in Oman appears limited and is carried out
in an ad-hoc manner. Trace elements such as Ni and
Zn have been detected in many locations adjacent to
dumping sites in and round Muscat mainly in deep
groundwater. Nitrate contamination is a major
groundwater quality issue in the areas closer to
dumping sites and urbanization, particularly in
shallow groundwater. This review recommends
updating groundwater use information, a broad
range of national and Wilayat level policies and
programmes to protect groundwater from
contamination along with establishment of
monitoring network and such studies should be
focused on various regions of Oman other than Al-
Batinah coast.
Soil Quality: A review on soil and soil quality issues
covered on literature available in the period of 1990
to 2013. Review indicated that number of studies
dealing with soil quality and salinity are limited and
focused only on Al-Batinah region and the most of
reported studies shown higher salinity of soils and

REVIEW OF WATER QUALITY AND POLLUTION IN COASTAL AREAS OF OMAN 237
studies closer to industrial sites indicated higher
concentration of heavy metals. It is recommended
that soil monitoring activities should be established
for farms located closer to major industrial sites and
across Wilayats of Oman focused on essential
nutrients. Most of the reported studies have been
focused on Al-Batinah region and such salinity
monitoring programs could be extended to other
parts of the country.
Coastal and Marine Pollution: Studies mainly
focused in the areas of Sohar, Saham, Al-Seeb, Mina
Al-Fahal, Sur, Muscat, Alfahel and Daymaniyat
islands, Mahout and Dhofar islands, Musandum,
Al-Sawadi, Al-Khaboura, Al-Ghobra, Mirbat,
Hadbeen, Sadah etc. Most of the studies indicated
relatively low levels of petroleum hydrocarbons and
heavy metals in a variety of habitats and organisms.
In general, few studies have shown elevated
concentrations of some pollutants indicating
relatively low to moderate chronic contamination
from oil and metals in certain coastal areas of Oman.
Although a wealth of literature refers to marine and
coastal environments which are mostly research
based with different time intervals hence there is a
need to establish national level regular monitoring
of marine and coastal environments related to
pollution and associated issues and identify
hotspots for monitoring by considering activities
such as industrial, desalination and crude oil
transport.
Seawater Quality: Regarding studies on seawater
quality indicated that the pollution of water by oil
refineries and oil spills which may impact on the
marine life. Therefore, the review recommends that
there is a need to have monitoring programme for
coastal water quality in Oman and regular water
quality monitoring should be taken up in the hot
spots such as Mina Al Fahal area.
Overall, this review covered papers and reports
published over a period of nearly two decades that
can be considered as a comprehensive review of
existing data base. Therefore, this review would
allow an efficient use of compiled information for
future studies and assessments of these
environmental issues in the coastal areas of Oman.
However, the review clearly indicated that
sustainable management and protective measures
related to coastal resources in the Sultanate of
Oman have greater importance and become
essential for preservation with effective mesures
towards environmental decision making.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This review is part of an ongoing research project at
the Center for Environmental Studies and Research
(CESAR), Sultan Qaboos University on coastal
ecosystem management in Oman and authors
would like to acknowledge the funding support
received from The Research Council of the Sultanate
of Oman (TRC) under the research agreement ORG/
SQU/EBR/13/028.
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