Scarcity of water supply and increasing demand for water in a densely populated area like Amman-Zarka, as well as new threats and contaminants, have emerged, leaving the area with such diverse water quality problems as eutrophication in surface waters and nitrates in ground waters. The problem has been aggravated by increasing emissions of industrial effluents from more than 60 industries located in the catchment area of Amman-Zarqa. Thus the present work has been confined to assessing industrial wastes and their impact on water resources. Water, as part of the human environment, occurs in four main forms - as groundwater, in surface water bodies, in the sea and as vapour in the atmosphere. The present work deals with the first two only, with main objectives as follows: Assessment of man - made impacts on water quality in the area. Identification of sources of pollution and pollutant pathways and behaviour. Determination of trends of chemical constituents and organic pollutants in water resources

A short historical review shows that treatment plants have been developed only after problems have occurred. The high diversity pollutants of totally different origins and natures, and chemical and biological characteristics require different tools. A good approach is to select one basic tool and try to integrate tools for other tasks within this main tool. The main tool will be in almost every case (for municipal wastewaters) an activated sludge plant surrounded by other elements of polishing or for the elimination of nitrogen, phosphorus, etc., according to the local situation. Some tasks like elimination of pathogens or eggs of intestinal worms, are automatically performed to a high degree in connection with the task of eliminating degradable organics. Special wastewaters with certain pollutants have to be treated at the place of their origins. For wastewater of agricultural production direct or indirect recycling should be favoured. For wastewater of industrial background containing toxicants, treatment must be economically included in the production process of the main product. Besides this, there appears a multitude of organics of unknown chemical composition and environmental significance. They should be permitted for public application only after lab tests have proved their degradability and the conditions of their degradation. Finally, one should always be aware that treatment plants have to be composed according to local conditions. Depending on the amount and composition of wastes, an integration of tool has to be found that not only meets the demands stemming from the wastewaters but also can be integrated into the existing economical and ecological frame