"كتيّب سوريا (بما في ذلك فلسطين). لندن: إدارة استخبارات الأركان البحرية، يونيو ١٩١٩" [و‎‎٢‎٤‎٥] (٧٣٨/٤٩٤)

WATER-SUPPLY
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villages. The wadi carries a perennial stream and, in winter,
water flows as far as Ramin, in summer as far as Beit Iba ;
but this water is not suitable for drinking purposes, being
contaminated by the sewerage of Nablus.
NE. of Wadi Nablus and the Samarian hills and also
SW. of the TCd Keram-Deir Sheraf section of the Jaffa-
Nablus road, water is very scarce, the supply being almost
entirely from rain-water cisterns which dry up in summer.
The district S. of Nablus and W. of the Jerusalem Road is
well supplied, the springs round Selfit and in W. Matwi
having an abundant yield ; the ‘Ain er-Raja, near Yasuf,
also yields abundantly. In the Mukhneh Plain, east of the
Jerusalem-Nablus Road, good wells are frequent.
The district N. of Sebastiyeh, including the Sahel ‘Arrabeh,
is remarkable for its fine water-supply, from springs. In the
Merj el-Ghuruq, a plain from which the water has no outlet,
the valleys in the low surrounding hills bring down water
in winter and, at this time of year, the plain becomes a marshy
lake ; but no springs exist near. On the northern borders
of Samaria, along the SW. edge of the Plain of Esdraelon
between Tell Abu Qadeis and Tell Qeimun, are numerous
groups of springs, notably around Lejjun.
The Belad er-Ruhah is composed of pervious Senonian
strata. Villages are far apart because water is scarce.
Springs, however, appear along the wadis at the junction of
the Senonian and impervious Cenomanian strata, but the
yield of most of them varies greatly with the seasons.
(2) The maritime belt. This section of Samaria is plentifully
supplied with water, {a) from the coastal streams—Faliq,
Iskanderuneh, Mefjir, Zerqa, and Dufleh—and, (b) from
wells and water-holes. Between the Nahr el-‘Auja and Haifa
the rock is limestone, with strata inclining towards the sea.
Water in abundance can be found under the rock and in the
plain above it. Above and below the limestone rocks are
layers of clay between which the water is retained. Owing
to the inclination of the strata towards the sea, the various
layers of water are struck above sea-level. Water is found
h h 2