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Microbiological, physicochemical, and heavy metals assessment of groundwater quality in the Triffa plain (eastern Morocco)

Microbiological, physicochemical, and heavy metals assessment of groundwater quality in the... Appl Water Sci (2017) 7:4497–4512 https://doi.org/10.1007/s13201-017-0598-1 O R I G IN AL ARTI CL E Microbiological, physicochemical, and heavy metals assessment of groundwater quality in the Triffa plain (eastern Morocco) 1 2,3 • • Hameed Saleh Ali Yahya Abdelhakim Jilali Mohammed Mohammed Mohammed Mostareh 4 1 Zouheir Chafik Abdelhafid Chafi Received: 5 April 2017 / Accepted: 18 July 2017 / Published online: 26 July 2017 The Author(s) 2017. This article is an open access publication Abstract The focus of this study is the physicochemical strong negative loading of HCO with 15.56 of TV. We and bacteriological characteristics of groundwater in the conclude that the quality of this groundwater is suitable for Triffa plain, Morocco. In total, 34 groundwater samples irrigation and domestic use (cleaning house, ect). ? ? were analyzed for major elements (Tp, pH, EC, K ,Na , 2? 2? - 2- - - ? - Ca ,Mg ,Cl ,SO ,NO ,NO ,NH ,H PO , Keywords Groundwater  Hydrochemistry  Trace metal 4 3 2 4 2 4 CO , and HCO ) and trace metal (Al, Cd, Cu, Fe, and Zn) Bacteriological analysis  Triffa  Morocco 3 3 content. The results show that the pH values range between 6.7 and 8.9, electrical conductivity ranges between 740 and 7340 lS/cm, and nitrate content ranges between 1.7 and Introduction 212 mg/l. Hydrochemical facies represented using a Piper diagram indicate an Na–K–Cl type water. All the trace The deterioration of groundwater quality by nitrate and metal concentrations are within the admissible standard microbial contamination has been the subject of a number range except for Cd. The bacteriological analysis showed research papers (Lamrani Alaoui et al. 2008; Bahri and that the majority of groundwater samples are contaminated. Saibi 2012; Douagui et al. 2012; Saber et al. 2013; Mer- Generally, the content of total coliforms, fecal coliforms, ghem et al. 2016; Al-Barakah F et al. 2017; Mallick 2017; and fecal streptococci ranged from 0 to 140, 0 to 125, and 0 Unnisa S and Zainab Bi 2017). The World Health Orga- to 108 CFU/100 ml, respectively. The samples are grouped nization (WHO 2000) has set a limit of 50 mg/l on nitrates according to three factors. Factor 1 shows strong positive in drinking water based on the formation of methe- loadings of EC, Mg, Cl, Na and K with 51.91% of total moglobinemia in red cells (Douagui et al. 2012). In Mor- variance (TV); factor 2 shows strong negative loadings of occo, the local economy is based on agriculture, which NO ,SO and Ca with 17.98% of TV; and factor 3 shows consumes 92% of the total water use. Currently, water 3 4 resources are under serious pressure and agricultural practices often have negative impacts on groundwater & Abdelhakim Jilali quality (Chettouani and Damou 1993; Benkaddour 1997; yamaapa@hotmail.com Fetouani et al. 2008; Fekkoul et al. 2013). The scenarios of Laboratory of Water Science, Environment and Ecology, possible climate change impact on groundwater in the Faculty of Sciences, University Mohammed I, Oujda, north of Africa are alarming (IPCC 2007; Jilali 2014). The Morocco decrease in the recharge of the aquifers is due to the Ministry of Energy Mines, Water, and Environment, Abou decrease in precipitation and an increase in temperature Marouane Essaadi Street, Haut Agdal, (IPCC 2007). Consequently, the groundwater quality is BP: Rabat-Institut 6208, Rabat, Morocco strongly affected (Baba 2012; Jilali et al. 2015a). Laboratory of Mineral Deposits, Hydrogeology & Most of the previous studies in this region focused on Environment, Faculty of Sciences, University Mohammed I, groundwater quality (nitrate and salinity). This paper Boulevard Mohammed VI, B.P: 524, 60000 Oujda, Morocco illustrates the impacts of irrigated agriculture and UFR, Environmental Management and Technics, Faculty of wastewater as well as physico-chemical and bacteriological Sciences, University Mohammed I Oujda, Oujda, Morocco 123 4498 Appl Water Sci (2017) 7:4497–4512 Fig. 1 Geographical and geological location of the study area (Fetouani et al. 2008), modified. Points numbered in red highlight the location of groundwater samples 123 Appl Water Sci (2017) 7:4497–4512 4499 Fig. 2 Abundance of TC in groundwater (vertical axis), as sampled in June and November 2013 (horizontal axis) Fig. 3 Abundance of FC in groundwater (vertical axis) as sampled in June and November 2013 (horizontal axis) 123 4500 Appl Water Sci (2017) 7:4497–4512 Fig. 4 Abundance of FS in groundwater (vertical axis) as sampled in June and November 2013 (horizontal axis) factors and metal content on the quality of groundwater in present: (1) an unconfined aquifer hosted by the Tertiary the unconfined Triffa aquifer in different periods of time. and Quaternary formations; (2) a confined aquifer hosted The wastewater of the city of Berkane is rejected in the by the Liasic formation (limestones and dolostones) (DGH upstream of the Triffa basin (Cheraa wadi). Piezometric 1997; El Mandour 1998; El Idrysy and Smedt 2006, 2007). maps show that the direction of groundwater is from SE to The climate of the region is semi-arid and total rainfall NW (Fekkoul et al. 2013). For this reason, most of the does not exceed 327 mm/year. The yearly average tem- contamination takes place in this direction. To assess this, perature is 17.4 C, but seasonal variability is high, with a 34 wells have been selected from the entire Triffa plain minimum of 11 C and a maximum of 25 C. The average area (unconfined aquifer) to identify the spatial extent of annual evapotranspiration is about 300 mm/year (Fekkoul contamination and evaluate the groundwater quality. et al. 2013). Study area Materials and methods The Triffa aquifer basin is located in the north-eastern part Chemical analyses were run on 34 groundwater wells of Morocco and has a surface area of 750 km . It is limited located in different parts of the study area during the in the north by the Ouled Mansour hills, in the west by the months of March, June, and November 2013. Measure- Kiss and Moulouya rivers, in the south by the Beni Snassen ments of pH, temperature, electric conductivity (EC) (using Mountains, and in the east by the Kiss River. It lies ORION STAR A111 and WATER PROOF CC-411), and 0 0 between latitudes 3505 N and 3455 N, and longitudes piezometric level were taken in situ. All water samples 0 0 223 W and 211 W (Fig. 1). Geologically, the plain is were collected in polyethylene bottles and stored in the formed by Tertiary and Quaternary formations consisting absence of light at 4 C. Major ions were analyzed in the ? ? 2? 2? - 2- - of alluvial material, silt, sandstone, limestone, and clay laboratory for K ,Na ,Ca ,Mg ,Cl ,SO ,NO , 4 3 - ? - - (Fetouani et al. 2008). In this region two aquifers are NO ,NH ,H PO (SKALAR method), and HCO 2 4 2 4 3 123 Appl Water Sci (2017) 7:4497–4512 4501 Table 1 Total Coliforms (TC), Fecal coliforms (FC), and Fecal Streptococci (FS) as colony forming units per 100 ml values measured in June 2013 and November 2013 Well June 2013 November 2013 TC FC FS TC FC FS 1 35 2313 2012 28 2 30 25 0 28 16 0 338 30 0 10 8 0 4 72 6216 2012 58 5 27 24 0 46 34 6 6 140 125 0 124 112 30 7 – – – 86 50 22 8 – –– 00 0 9– – – 12 0 0 10 – – – 56 14 40 11 – – – 24 8 94 12 80 3 0 72 2 6 13 50 3 2 – – – 14 31 20 2 50 46 6 15 25 13 3 22 12 0 16 23 14 0 24 0 0 17 0 0 0 30 12 0 18 73 23 0 62 16 0 19 32 0 13 98 76 108 20 85 61 0 78 50 24 21 50 0 0 122 82 30 22 20 3 0 66 36 66 23 41 34 0 84 66 0 24 45 5 0 42 0 106 25 10 0 0 14 12 0 26 102 62 0 96 50 4 27 43 25 0 34 0 0 28 108 28 1 104 94 0 29 17 4 50 0 0 10 30 21 20 3 0 0 0 31 17 13 0 10 8 0 32 60 53 20 44 0 56 33 0 12 0 0 0 0 34 102 88 4 68 64 2 Minimum 0 0 0 0 0 0 Maximum 140 125 50 124 112 108 Average 47.48 26.66 4.38 46.85 27.03 21.09 The values above 0 indicate potential contamination (Rodier 1984). Nitric acid was added to 50 ml of water to the spectral range 120–800 nm with a nitrogen sweep) in produce a 10% nitric acid concentration for the analysis of the National Center for Scientific and Technical Research, Al, Cd, Cu, Fe, and Zn, which were determined by atomic Rabat-Morocco. A database was then created on the geo- emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES; Ultima 2, JobinYvon: graphic information system (GIS) integrating. equipped with an optical system with two thermo-regulated Bacteriological analysis was conducted in the same networks of 4343 and 2400 rev/mm back to back, covering groundwater wells of the study area in June and November 123 4502 Appl Water Sci (2017) 7:4497–4512 b Fig. 5 EC (lS/cm) measured in the Triffa plain in a March, b June, and c November 2013, highlighting the changes in EC concentration between one period and another. The blue lines are the wadis 2013. All measurements were conducted on the same day in the quality control laboratory (University of Mohammed 1st, Morocco). Pathogens analyzed in this study include total coliforms (TC), fecal coliforms (FC), and fecal streptococci (FS: Intestinal Enterococci). Water samples of 100 ml each were filtered (pore size: 0.45 lm) and then transferred onto triphenyl-tetrazolium chloride (TTC) and tergicol lactose agar (AFNOR 1998), which were used as selective media for FC. The FC and TC were counted after 24 h incubation at 44 ± 1 C. For FS, the selective med- ium of Slanetz and Bartley was used. The FS were counted after incubation at 37 C for 24 h. The total number of bacteria was determined as colony forming units per 100 ml (CFU/100 ml). The principal component analysis (PCA) multivariate statistical technique was used in our research. This method is a quantitative and independent approach for the classi- fication of groundwater samples according to their geo- chemical characteristics and may simplify and organize large data sets to make useful groupings of similar samples (Kumar et al. 2013; Jilali et al. 2015b). The STATISTICA software was used to process the November 2013 vintage ? ? 2? data analyses. For this, the analyses of EC, K ,Na ,Ca , 2? - - 2- - Mg , HCO ,Cl ,SO and NO were used as 3 4 3 variables. Results and discussion Groundwater bacteriological quality Figures 2, 3, and 4 show the abundance of TC, CF, and FS in groundwater sampled in June and November 2013. – TC abundance varied from 0 to 140 CFU/100 ml in June and from 0 to 124 CFU/100 ml in November (Fig. 2); – FC abundance varied from 0 to 125 CFU/100 ml in June and from 0 to 112 CFU/100 ml in November (Fig. 3); – FS abundance varied from 0 to 50 CFU/100 ml in June and from 0 to 108 CFU/100 ml in November (Fig. 4). The results that show the contamination of groundwater affects nearly the whole region (Table 1; Figs. 2, 3, 4). Generally, the highest numbers of these bacteria groups were recorded in June, which is the dry period. One well, however, (no. 17) shows no contamination during the dry period. Otherwise, in the humid period (November) three 123 Appl Water Sci (2017) 7:4497–4512 4503 Table 2 Physicochemical parameters of groundwater sampled in the wells in March 2013 (NS: Static level) 2? 2? ? ? - 2- - Well Tp pH NS EC (lS/ NO - Ca Mg K Na Cl SO HCO 3 4 3 (C) (m) cm) (mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) 1 19 7.4 16.4 4970 100.7 270 255.2 7.8 529 1666.1 312 305 2 19.5 7.41 10.5 3870 60.5 130 200.5 11.7 540.5 974.9 547.2 427 3 20.3 7.2 13 3380 115.6 140 145 6.6 517.5 833.1 470.4 396.5 4 18.7 7.5 12 2520 118.9 110 127.6 5.5 322 390 470.4 366 5 20.8 7.3 18.5 3290 72.3 150 145.8 6.6 345 780 432 396.5 6 19 7.38 3 4070 78 160 182.3 9 540.5 957.1 672 457.5 7 19.7 7.32 4.5 3480 107.6 200 151.9 9.4 322 797.6 624 396.5 8 22 7.34 12 2820 55 150 133.6 3.1 322 673.6 259.2 366 9 20 7.64 16.5 2390 80 80 133.6 4.3 322 460.8 288 396.5 10 22.8 7.37 22 2080 44 80 109.4 3.1 276 425.4 163.2 396.5 11 20 7 5 3390 32.1 200 127.6 9 448.5 744.5 – – 12 19.5 7.22 11.5 2600 85 150 115.4 5.5 379.5 514 – – 13 23.5 7.13 3 135.7 170 127.6 12.5 460 638.1 – – 14 20.3 7.42 3.5 2400 63 170 60.7 10.1 345 478.6 – – 15 20 7.31 3 3570 130.7 170 170.1 11.3 368 833.1 672 396.5 16 23 7.3 12 5380 48 300 164 13.3 483 329.4 – – 22 20.3 7.3 11 2940 97.8 180 145.8 19.5 345 620.4 – – 24 20.4 7.63 12 3140 31.6 160 133.6 6.8 379.5 709 470.4 427 Minimum 18.7 7 3 2080 31.6 80 60.7 3.1 276 329.4 163.2 305 Maximum 23.5 7.64 22 5380 135.7 300 255.2 19.5 540.5 1666.1 672 457.5 Average 20.49 7.34 10.52 3311.18 80.92 165.00 146.09 8.62 402.50 712.54 448.40 393.96 Accuracy: Tp ± 0.1 C, pH ± 0.01, EC ± 0.25%, and ICP-AES ± 0.5% uncontaminated wells were observed (wells no. 8, 30, and indicate that the groundwater is slightly acid to alkaline 33). In addition, the abundance of bacteria was lower than water. The temperature of groundwater ranged between in the dry period (June). The highest numbers of bacteria 18.5 and 23.5 C. The EC values of groundwater samples were recorded in Madarh region (Fig. 1). On the other range from 740 to 5380 lS/cm in March, from 1170 to hand, a correlation between pH values and bacteria has 4120 lS/cm in June, and from 1590 to 7340 lS/cm in been established for the months of June (dry period) and November. The highest EC was recorded in the west part of November (humid period): with an increase in pH, the TC the study area (Fig. 5; Tables 2, 3). and FC values were generally lower (e.g., in the case of The hydrogeochemical facies of groundwater and the wells no. 5, 16, 19, 21, 22, 23, 31 and 34 located in the relationship between different dissolved ions can best be north of Hassi Smia flexure), whereas the FS values were understood by plotting geochemical data on a Piper dia- higher (e.g., in the case of wells no. 15, 29, 30 and 34 gram, which indicates an Na–K–Cl type water (Fig. 6). The located in the south of Hassi Smia flexure). The fecal diagram shows the evolution of major ions for two periods 2? 2? contamination is due to the injection of fecal organic (March and November). According to the Ca ,Mg , ? ? matter in septic tanks. Therefore, the abundance of bacteria Na , and K triangle, an increase in the concentration of 2? 2? ? depends on the richness of nutrients from human waste and Mg and decreases in Na and K were registered. animals (Al-Barakah F et al. 2017; Bahri and Saibi 2012; The results of plots of major ions with EC show that Merghem et al. 2016). chloride and sodium were strongly correlated with EC with R = 0.95 and 0.836, respectively (Fig. 7). These values Hydrochemistry of groundwater quality indicate that the groundwater salinities were mainly con- trolled by these ions. The possibility that salinization could According to Table 1, the pH values of the analyzed have been caused by seawater intrusion is not plausible, samples varied from 7 to 7.64 in March, from 6.7 to 8.9 in because Triffa is an unconfined aquifer, with no inflow in June, and from 6.75 to 9.62 in November. These values its north part. Thus, a plot of chloride versus sodium shows 123 4504 Appl Water Sci (2017) 7:4497–4512 Table 3 Physicochemical parameters of groundwater sampled in the wells in June 2013 and November 2013 (NS: Static level) Well June 2013 November 2013 - - 2- ? ? 2? 2? ? - 2- - - - - - Tp pH NS EC (lS/ NO Cl SO Tp pH NS EC (lS/ Na K Mg Ca NH (mg/ Cl SO CO HCO NO NO H PO 3 4 4 4 3 3 3 2 2 4 (C) (m) cm) (mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) (C) (m) cm) (mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) l) (mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) mg/l) 1 20.9 7.04 16 3730 146.5 1114.7 – 19.4 7.75 16.15 4100 426.7 8.5 116.57 188.94 0.06 856.12 367.71 0 228.8 38.76 0.06 \0.02 2 21 7.42 3 3750 44 731.3 – 18.9 7.22 9.6 5000 607.56 5.86 118.33 223.94 \0.02 1018.69 581.99 0 326.4 89.28 0.07 \0.02 3 21.1 7.05 16 3300 48.4 – – 20.6 7.63 13.5 4220 577.26 4.76 95.78 150.05 0.09 895.47 450.22 0 326.4 96.21 0.1 \0.02 4 19.9 7.6 12 2380 52.1 340.8 152.5 19.4 7.78 12.8 2880 396.45 3.23 61.45 106.19 0.07 364.12 453.58 0 289.8 168.28 \0.04 \0.02 5 21 6.7 18.5 3000 35.3 624.8 437.5 21.2 7.07 18 3660 338.38 6.87 109.49 218.65 0.08 730.86 389.38 0 255.64 84.91 \0.04 \0.02 6 20.7 7.05 2.6 3380 39.7 663.85 – 19.9 7.12 2.8 4790 602.71 6.51 119.58 216.1 0.08 953.41 597.05 0 426.44 94.55 \0.04 \0.02 7 19.8 7.12 4.5 3420 176 738.4 782.5 20.4 7.53 3 4280 414.56 8.43 108.42 261.04 0.08 764.81 559.67 0 289.8 114.05 \0.04 \0.02 8 22 7.34 12.5 2100 – – – 21 7.44 – 3380 346.27 2.95 74.29 185.89 0.07 620.9 337.77 0 216.6 69.93 \0.04 \0.02 9 21.4 7.25 17 2330 68.5 447.3 347.5 20.8 7.27 16.7 2770 334.67 6.04 57.57 106.67 0.09 444.82 307.8 0 241 87.5 \0.04 \0.02 10 21.5 7.5 25 2060 15.8 337.25 252.5 23.1 7.22 22 2410 300.18 2.18 44.78 96.21 0.06 411.78 214.98 0 236.12 48.04 \0.04 \0.02 11 20.5 7.2 5.1 3410 – – – 20.2 7.39 3.2 3670 417.16 6.06 88.97 184.89 0.07 665.27 490.24 0 209.28 62.1 \0.04 \0.02 12 22.4 6.97 14 2480 20.7 401.15 420 19.1 6.75 11 2890 336.8 3.84 62.74 128.64 0.04 465.84 320.88 0 372.76 54.13 \0.04 \0.02 13 20 7.29 3 3030 31 450.85 475 – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – 14 20.8 7.67 4.5 1200 10.5 113.6 472.5 20.8 7.15 4.8 2140 191.89 7.64 52.9 131.24 0.08 324.7 327.22 0 233.68 47.26 \0.04 \0.02 15 20.3 7.24 3.5 3380 212.9 653.2 497.5 20.5 7.02 3.8 4120 402 10.73 91.08 247.51 0.08 762.24 483.84 0 299.56 117.54 \0.04 \0.02 16 21.4 6.75 11.5 1170 40.3 869.75 402.5 21.3 6.99 11.6 5520 538.35 12.12 138.38 281.39 0.05 1317.31 396.79 0 216.6 79.83 \0.04 \0.02 17 21.4 7.14 30 3000 – 514.75 85 20.4 7.57 26 2250 317.08 6.95 50.03 79.3 0.09 193.85 363.11 0 519.16 16.18 \0.04 \0.02 18 20.7 8.9 11.9 3960 121 1345.45 73.75 20.6 9.62 12 5060 789.44 18.81 93.82 7.66 5.79 1401.5 23.63 14.4 304.44 1.69 \0.04 0.09 19 20.7 7.25 12 3130 22.3 631.9 275 18.5 7.28 7.9 2860 280.86 2.45 94.37 125.58 0.09 408 387.77 0 302 34.92 \0.04 \0.02 20 22 7.27 16 2270 33.8 379.85 252.5 20.5 7.23 13.5 2660 286.26 3.62 55.12 142.33 0.09 458.62 268.79 0 253.2 91.87 \0.04 \0.02 21 20.6 7.37 3 1400 17.9 358.55 335 20.6 7.33 3 3410 338.77 13.42 72 138.36 0.07 595.43 365.36 0 282.48 107.71 \0.04 \0.02 22 20.8 7.08 15 1420 34.4 447.3 230 21 7.37 14.3 3020 263.05 6.08 79.07 178.05 0.07 506.35 349.69 0 299.56 79.37 0.05 \0.02 23 21 7.14 5 1520 13.6 1480.35 347.5 20.8 7.05 5.4 7340 1031.5 15.29 198.59 199.85 0.03 1806.19 509.04 0 465.48 82.41 0.24 \0.02 24 19.7 7.37 7 2080 12 355 147.5 21.3 7.24 6 2940 252.69 15.03 75.78 168.07 0.07 485 379.26 0 323.96 56.51 \0.04 \0.02 25 21.8 7 14 4120 33.2 681.6 197.5 20.9 6.99 14.2 5230 611.02 15.17 125.21 265.07 0.08 1214.54 461.77 0 223.92 79.03 0.05 \0.02 26 21 7.05 8 3570 23.8 766.8 162.5 20.6 7.57 8 4690 460.67 10.4 98.86 234.85 0.08 994.07 427.14 0 209.28 91.28 \0.04 \0.02 27 20.4 7.7 20.5 2600 122.9 383.4 37.5 20.1 7.24 20 3260 451.25 3.33 45.73 92.76 0.07 439.07 419.81 0 392.28 149.38 \0.04 \0.02 28 19.8 7.27 34 1630 79.4 195.25 97.5 19.5 7.06 33.7 1955 177.57 1.82 53.5 129.65 0.37 191.22 302.93 0 314.2 82.41 \0.04 \0.02 29 21.6 7.01 40 1290 17.9 – – 20.5 7.1 43.1 1590 151.47 1 38.7 74.83 0.11 159.31 148.21 0 282.48 83.35 \0.04 \0.02 30 19.9 6.8 36 2200 15.8 294.65 60 21.5 7.66 37 2620 392.91 0.99 37.78 73.4 0.05 330.41 313.29 0 443.52 118.19 \0.04 \0.02 31 21.1 7.04 23 3970 38.7 926.55 105 20.3 7 22 5110 677.84 5.66 123.57 166.21 0.07 1111.02 398.13 0 309.32 157.9 \0.04 \0.02 32 22.8 7 14 2190 35 355 90 20.4 7.4 11.8 2700 284.87 5.48 44.83 117.64 0.12 436.15 242.19 0 358.12 67.26 \0.04 \0.02 33 22.7 7.14 27.5 1960 30.2 – – 23.2 7.08 27.5 3870 410.87 2.57 92.92 181.46 0.04 775.72 311.45 0 294.68 67.34 \0.04 \0.02 34 20.5 7.6 39.1 4010 – – – 20.7 7.21 40 3860 578.32 1.03 57.98 76.84 0.12 565.22 464.85 0 463.04 86.6 \0.04 \0.02 Minimum 19.7 6.7 2.6 1170 10.5 113.6 37.5 18.5 6.75 2.8 1590 151.47 0.99 37.78 7.66 0.03 159.31 23.63 0 209.28 1.69 \0.04 \0.02 Maximum 22.8 8.9 40 4120 212.9 1480.35 782.5 23.2 9.62 43.1 7340 1031.5 18.81 198.59 281.39 5.79 1806.19 597.05 14.4 519.16 168.28 0.24 0.09 Average 20.98 7.24 15.43 2660.00 53.12 592.98 269.45 20.55 7.34 15.45 3644.09 423.86 6.81 84.19 156.95 0.26 686.91 376.23 0.44 309.39 81.99 0.07 \0.02 Accuracy: Tp ± 0.1 C, pH ± 0.01, EC ± 0.25%, and ICP-AES ± 0.5% Appl Water Sci (2017) 7:4497–4512 4505 Fig. 6 Piper diagram for groundwater samples showing the hydrogeochemical facies and changes in the concentration of major ions between March and November a high correlation coefficient of 0.797 (Fig. 8), indicating The concentrations of NO in March, June, and that these ions have the same origin: the dissolution of November are in the range of: 31.6–135.7, 10.5–212.9, halite present in: (1) sedimentary rocks (DGH 1997;El and 1.7–168.3 mg/l, those of Cl are in the range of Mandour 1998; El Idrysy and Smedt 2006) or (2) saline 329.4–1666.4, 113.6–1480.3, and 159.3–1806.2, and 2- surface deposits (Chettouani and Damou 1993; Benkad- those of SO are in the range of 163.2–672, dour 1997). The plot of SO versus EC (Fig. 7) shows a 37.5–782.5, and 23.6–672 mg/l, respectively (Fig. 9; good correlation, indicating that the sulfate participates in Tables 2, 3). The high concentrations result from the water mineralization. On the other hand, a plot of SO presence of cultivation zones, where ammonium nitrate versus Ca (Fig. 8) indicates that the sulfate has the same is used as a chemical fertilizer. This observation is origin as Ca. A plot of HCO versus EC (Fig. 7) shows no similar to those made in other studies carried out in the linear correlation between them and indicates that the Triffa plain (Fetouani et al. 2008; Fekkoul et al. 2013). bicarbonate participates in the transfer reaction. On the The increases in other anions and cations occur due to other hand, the plot of HCO versus Ca (Fig. 8) indicates the concentration of these ions by recycling the the ionic association between them (Saber et al. 2013; groundwater as irrigation water (Bahri and Saibi 2012). Mallick 2017). Comparing the concentration of nitrate, chloride, and 123 4506 Appl Water Sci (2017) 7:4497–4512 Fig. 7 Major ion concentration (vertical axis) versus EC (horizontal axis). The linear correlation between them is shown by R 123 Appl Water Sci (2017) 7:4497–4512 4507 Fig. 8 Concentration of various major ions. The linear correlation between them is shown by R 123 4508 Appl Water Sci (2017) 7:4497–4512 b Fig. 9 Concentration of nitrates recorded in a March, b June, and c November 2013, highlighting the changes in NO concentration between one period and another. The blue lines are the wadis sulfate with the depth of the aquifer suggests that high concentrations takes place in the dry period. On the other hand, the plots of HCO versus SO and SO 3 4 4 versus Cl (Fig. 8) show that the pollutants are inputs from the soil surface and their origin is the same: from fertilizers and from animal and human wastes (Saber et al. 2013; Mallick 2017;UnnisaSandZainabBi 2017). According to WHO standards, the admissible levels of Cu, Zn, Al, Cd, and Fe in potable water are 2, 3, 0.2, 0.003, and 0.2 mg/l, respectively. The concentrations of trace metals in groundwater are generally within the admissible standard range, with the exception of Cu, Zn, Al for wells 24 and 26 measured in June, and wells 1 and 17 measured in November, and Fe for wells 12 and 26 measured in June, and wells 1, 18, 27, and 33 measured in November. For Cd, all samples of groundwater present contamination with a concentration higher than 0.003 mg/l (Table 4). This con- tamination comes probably from the pesticides used for irrigation and the discharge located in the southern part of Berkane. PCA The data were processed by the STATISTICA software package. The variables of Mg, Ca, Na, K, Cl, HCO ,SO , 3 4 NO3 and EC were used for the PCA test (Table 5). Three factors were extracted; factor 1 shows strong positive loadings of EC, Mg, Cl, Na and K with 51.91% of Total Variance (TV: 85.45%); factor 2 shows strong negative loadings of NO ,SO and Ca with 17.98% of TV; and 3 4 factor 3 shows a strong negative loading of HCO3 with 15.56 of TV. The spatial distribution of the variables and individuals in the axes system F1-F2 and F1-F3 are showed in Figs. 10 and 11. Considering the spatial distribution of the variables and individuals in the axe systems of F1-F2 we can conclude the presence of two groups of waters. Group 1 corresponds to the waters from the south-west part of the study area. This group which is located in a fractured zone suggest that the area of recharge (Oued Cherra ˆ a) and the mixture of groundwater between unconfined and confined aquifers facilitated by faults. Group 2 consists of the waters of wells situated in the center of Triffa plain (an intensive irrigation zone), where agricultural activities take place. 123 Appl Water Sci (2017) 7:4497–4512 4509 Table 4 Metal concentrations of groundwater sampled in the wells in June 2013 and November 2013 (mg/l) Well June 2013 November 2013 AL Cd Cu Fe Zn Al Cd Cu Fe Zn 1 – 0.022 0.026 0.062 0.386 0.22 0.03 0.05 0.44 0.22 2 0.061 0.027 0.13 0.06 0.078 0.03 0.02 0.03 0.03 0.01 3 – 0.022 0.028 0.049 0.18 0.06 0.02 0.04 0.03 0.04 4 0.189 0.023 0.12 0.095 0.074 0.13 0.02 0.04 0.12 0.21 5 – 0.021 0.031 0.046 0.01 B0.006 0.02 0.04 0.08 0.06 6 – 0.02 0.025 0.141 0.189 0.25 0.02 0.04 0.08 0.63 7 0.056 0.02 0.028 0.069 0.02 0.11 0.03 0.05 0.15 0.12 8 0.062 0.024 0.12 0.116 0.114 0.02 0.02 0.04 0.08 0.12 9 – 0.02 0.25 0.083 0.08 B0.006 0.04 0.04 0.06 0.02 10 – 0.021 0.025 0.388 0.162 B0.006 0.09 0.06 0.07 0.08 11 – 0.02 0.024 0.032 0.01 0.07 0.03 0.04 0.06 0.08 12 0.1 0.023 0.121 0.493 0.107 B0.006 0.02 0.04 0.09 0.09 13 0.172 0.027 0.122 0.045 0.077 – – – – – 14 – 0.021 0.025 0.066 0.01 0.07 0.02 0.03 0.12 0.03 15 – – – – – 0.02 0.02 0.03 0.03 0.07 16 0.352 0.028 0.122 0.042 0.05 0.02 0.07 0.03 0.03 0.08 17 0.093 0.026 0.125 0.082 0.157 0.46 0.05 0.03 0.34 0.43 18 0.548 0.034 0.129 0.05 0.471 0.33 0.04 0.04 4.07 0.06 19 0.059 0.034 0.122 0.119 0.078 0.06 0.03 0.03 0.16 0.06 20 0.062 0.026 0.122 0.062 0.058 0.16 0.02 0.03 0.23 0.06 21 0.072 0.025 0.121 0.074 0.076 0.05 0.02 0.03 0.07 0.03 22 0.473 0.029 0.12 0.076 0.003 0.06 0.03 0.03 0.09 0.06 23 0.073 0.043 0.123 0.091 0.027 0.1 0.03 0.03 0.14 0.04 24 0.146 0.029 0.12 0.118 0.031 0.04 0.03 0.03 0.09 0.05 25 0.168 0.43 0.127 0.049 0.059 B0.006 0.07 0.06 0.04 0.16 26 0.291 0.033 0.122 0.453 0.039 0.02 0.06 0.04 0.07 0.32 27 – – – – – 0.17 0.02 0.03 0.25 0.09 28 – – – – – 0.18 0.05 0.03 0.19 0.15 29 –– ––– B0.006 0.02 0.02 0.06 0.01 30 –– ––– B0.006 0.02 0.02 0.11 0.14 31 – – – – – 0.1 0.04 0.03 0.15 0.1 32 – – – – – 0.13 0.02 0.03 0.13 0.11 33 –– ––– B0.006 0.03 0.03 0.5 0.05 34 –– ––– B0.006 0.03 0.03 0.06 0.09 Minimum 0.056 0.02 0.024 0.032 0.003 B0.006 0.02 0.02 0.03 0.01 Maximum 0.548 0.43 0.25 0.493 0.471 0.46 0.09 0.06 4.07 0.63 Average 0.18 0.04 0.10 0.12 0.10 0.07 0.03 0.04 0.25 0.12 The values above the admissible range indicate potential contamination 123 4510 Appl Water Sci (2017) 7:4497–4512 Table 5 Correlation coefficients of physicochemical parameters of well groundwater EC Na K Mg Ca Cl SO4 HCO3 NO3 EC 1.00 0.91 0.60 0.92 0.55 0.98 0.47 0.05 0.12 Na 1.00 0.48 0.75 0.20 0.89 0.34 0.29 0.12 K 1.00 0.57 0.33 0.67 0.05 -0.13 -0.23 Mg 1.00 0.67 0.90 0.51 -0.05 0.03 Ca 1.00 0.49 0.66 -0.36 0.20 Cl 1.00 0.29 -0.05 0.00 SO4 1.00 0.17 0.44 HCO3 1.00 0.04 NO3 1.00 The values close to 1 indicate a good correlation Conclusions The results obtained from the 34 analyzed samples show that groundwater quality in the Triffa aquifer is poor. High concentrations of nitrates and EC were recorded in the western part of the Triffa plain, and in over half of the tested wells exceeded the standard level set for drinking water by the WHO (50 mg/l). The bacteriological data (TC, FC, and FS) showed that almost all of the samples were contaminated. The contamination came from septic tanks and the wastewater dumped in the Charaa wadi (river). In general, the results for metals (Cu, Zn, Al, Fe) were within the acceptable range for drinking water, except for Cd, a contamination that could be dangerous for human life. Multivariate statistical analysis undertaken using PCA of major hydrochemical ions identified three major geo- chemical processes with 85.45% of TV. Thus, the groundwater from the Triffa plain is recommended for irrigation and domestic use (house cleaning, etc.). Fig. 10 Spatial distribution of the variables in the axes system a F1- F2 and b F1-F3 123 Appl Water Sci (2017) 7:4497–4512 4511 Fig. 11 Spatial distribution of the individuals in the axes system a F1-F2 and b F1-F3 123 4512 Appl Water Sci (2017) 7:4497–4512 Acknowledgments The authors wish to thank Dr. Mike Mlynarczyk Fekkoul A, Zarhloule Y, Boughriba M, A-e Barkaoui, Jilali A, Bouri for helping improve this manuscript and two anonymous reviewers. S (2013) Impact of anthropogenic activities on the groundwater resources of the unconfined aquifer of Triffa plain (eastern Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Morocco). Arab J Geosci 6(12):4917–4924 Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http:// Fetouani S, Sbaa M, Vanclooster M, Bendra B (2008) Assessing creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted ground water quality in the irrigated plain of Triffa (north-east use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give Morocco). Agric Water Manage 95(2):133–142 appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a IPCC (2007) Climate change 2007: impacts, adaptation and vulner- link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were ability. Contribution of working group II to the fourth assess- made. ment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Jilali A (2014) Impact of climate change on the Figuig aquifer using a numerical model: oasis of eastern Morocco. J Biol Earth Sci 4(1):E16–E24 References Jilali A, Abbas M, Amar M, Zarhloule Y (2015a) Groundwater contamination by wastewater in Figuig Oasis (Eastern High AFNOR (1998) Association franc ¸aise de normalisation: Installations Atlas, Morocco). Nat Environ Pollut Technol 14(2):275–282 classe ´es pour la protection de l’environnement. Oxford Univer- Jilali A, Fagel N, Amar M, Abbas M, Zarhloule Y (2015b) sity Press, Paris. ISBN: 2-12-214311-8 Hydrogeochemical processes constrained by multivariate statis- Al-Barakah FN, Al-jassas AM, Aly AA (2017) Water quality tical methods and isotopic evidence of groundwater recharge in assessment and hydrochemical characterization of Zamzam the aquifer of Figuig, Eastern High Atlas of Morocco. Arab J groundwater, Saudi Arabia. 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Dunod Edition, Paris. ISBN: 2-04-015615-1 Douagui AG, Kouame IK, Koffi K, Goula ATB, Dibi B, Gone DL, Saber M, Abdelshafy M, Faragallah M-A, Abd-Alla M (2014) Coulibaly K, Seka ANM, Kouassi AK, Oi Mangoua JM, Savane I Hydrochemical and bacteriological analyses of groundwater and (2012) Assessment of the bacteriological quality and nitrate its suitability for drinking and agricultural uses at Manfalut pollution risk of quaternary groundwater in the southern part of District, Assuit, Egypt. Arab J Geosci 7(11):4593–4613 Abidjan District (Co ˆ te d’Ivoire). J Hydroenviron Res 6(3):227–238 Unnisa SA, Zainab Bi S (2017) Groundwater quality characterization El Idrysy E, Smedt F (2006) Modelling groundwater flow of the Trifa around Jawaharnagar open dumpsite, Telangana State. Appl aquifer Morocco. Hydrogeol J 14(7):1265–1276 Water Sci. doi:10.1007/s13201-017-0544-2 El Idrysy E, Smedt F (2007) A comparative study of hydraulic WHO (2000) Global water supply and sanitation assessment 2000 conductivity estimations using geostatistics. Hydrogeol J report. UNICEF, OMS, Geneva 15(3):459–470 El Mandour A (1998) Contribution hydrogeologique de la plaine des ´ ´ Triffa: salinisation et modelisation, Universite Mohamed 1er, Faculte des sciences, Oujda http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Applied Water Science Springer Journals

Microbiological, physicochemical, and heavy metals assessment of groundwater quality in the Triffa plain (eastern Morocco)

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Abstract

Appl Water Sci (2017) 7:4497–4512 https://doi.org/10.1007/s13201-017-0598-1 O R I G IN AL ARTI CL E Microbiological, physicochemical, and heavy metals assessment of groundwater quality in the Triffa plain (eastern Morocco) 1 2,3 • • Hameed Saleh Ali Yahya Abdelhakim Jilali Mohammed Mohammed Mohammed Mostareh 4 1 Zouheir Chafik Abdelhafid Chafi Received: 5 April 2017 / Accepted: 18 July 2017 / Published online: 26 July 2017 The Author(s) 2017. This article is an open access publication Abstract The focus of this study is the physicochemical strong negative loading of HCO with 15.56 of TV. We and bacteriological characteristics of groundwater in the conclude that the quality of this groundwater is suitable for Triffa plain, Morocco. In total, 34 groundwater samples irrigation and domestic use (cleaning house, ect). ? ? were analyzed for major elements (Tp, pH, EC, K ,Na , 2? 2? - 2- - - ? - Ca ,Mg ,Cl ,SO ,NO ,NO ,NH ,H PO , Keywords Groundwater  Hydrochemistry  Trace metal 4 3 2 4 2 4 CO , and HCO ) and trace metal (Al, Cd, Cu, Fe, and Zn) Bacteriological analysis  Triffa  Morocco 3 3 content. The results show that the pH values range between 6.7 and 8.9, electrical conductivity ranges between 740 and 7340 lS/cm, and nitrate content ranges between 1.7 and Introduction 212 mg/l. Hydrochemical facies represented using a Piper diagram indicate an Na–K–Cl type water. All the trace The deterioration of groundwater quality by nitrate and metal concentrations are within the admissible standard microbial contamination has been the subject of a number range except for Cd. The bacteriological analysis showed research papers (Lamrani Alaoui et al. 2008; Bahri and that the majority of groundwater samples are contaminated. Saibi 2012; Douagui et al. 2012; Saber et al. 2013; Mer- Generally, the content of total coliforms, fecal coliforms, ghem et al. 2016; Al-Barakah F et al. 2017; Mallick 2017; and fecal streptococci ranged from 0 to 140, 0 to 125, and 0 Unnisa S and Zainab Bi 2017). The World Health Orga- to 108 CFU/100 ml, respectively. The samples are grouped nization (WHO 2000) has set a limit of 50 mg/l on nitrates according to three factors. Factor 1 shows strong positive in drinking water based on the formation of methe- loadings of EC, Mg, Cl, Na and K with 51.91% of total moglobinemia in red cells (Douagui et al. 2012). In Mor- variance (TV); factor 2 shows strong negative loadings of occo, the local economy is based on agriculture, which NO ,SO and Ca with 17.98% of TV; and factor 3 shows consumes 92% of the total water use. Currently, water 3 4 resources are under serious pressure and agricultural practices often have negative impacts on groundwater & Abdelhakim Jilali quality (Chettouani and Damou 1993; Benkaddour 1997; yamaapa@hotmail.com Fetouani et al. 2008; Fekkoul et al. 2013). The scenarios of Laboratory of Water Science, Environment and Ecology, possible climate change impact on groundwater in the Faculty of Sciences, University Mohammed I, Oujda, north of Africa are alarming (IPCC 2007; Jilali 2014). The Morocco decrease in the recharge of the aquifers is due to the Ministry of Energy Mines, Water, and Environment, Abou decrease in precipitation and an increase in temperature Marouane Essaadi Street, Haut Agdal, (IPCC 2007). Consequently, the groundwater quality is BP: Rabat-Institut 6208, Rabat, Morocco strongly affected (Baba 2012; Jilali et al. 2015a). Laboratory of Mineral Deposits, Hydrogeology & Most of the previous studies in this region focused on Environment, Faculty of Sciences, University Mohammed I, groundwater quality (nitrate and salinity). This paper Boulevard Mohammed VI, B.P: 524, 60000 Oujda, Morocco illustrates the impacts of irrigated agriculture and UFR, Environmental Management and Technics, Faculty of wastewater as well as physico-chemical and bacteriological Sciences, University Mohammed I Oujda, Oujda, Morocco 123 4498 Appl Water Sci (2017) 7:4497–4512 Fig. 1 Geographical and geological location of the study area (Fetouani et al. 2008), modified. Points numbered in red highlight the location of groundwater samples 123 Appl Water Sci (2017) 7:4497–4512 4499 Fig. 2 Abundance of TC in groundwater (vertical axis), as sampled in June and November 2013 (horizontal axis) Fig. 3 Abundance of FC in groundwater (vertical axis) as sampled in June and November 2013 (horizontal axis) 123 4500 Appl Water Sci (2017) 7:4497–4512 Fig. 4 Abundance of FS in groundwater (vertical axis) as sampled in June and November 2013 (horizontal axis) factors and metal content on the quality of groundwater in present: (1) an unconfined aquifer hosted by the Tertiary the unconfined Triffa aquifer in different periods of time. and Quaternary formations; (2) a confined aquifer hosted The wastewater of the city of Berkane is rejected in the by the Liasic formation (limestones and dolostones) (DGH upstream of the Triffa basin (Cheraa wadi). Piezometric 1997; El Mandour 1998; El Idrysy and Smedt 2006, 2007). maps show that the direction of groundwater is from SE to The climate of the region is semi-arid and total rainfall NW (Fekkoul et al. 2013). For this reason, most of the does not exceed 327 mm/year. The yearly average tem- contamination takes place in this direction. To assess this, perature is 17.4 C, but seasonal variability is high, with a 34 wells have been selected from the entire Triffa plain minimum of 11 C and a maximum of 25 C. The average area (unconfined aquifer) to identify the spatial extent of annual evapotranspiration is about 300 mm/year (Fekkoul contamination and evaluate the groundwater quality. et al. 2013). Study area Materials and methods The Triffa aquifer basin is located in the north-eastern part Chemical analyses were run on 34 groundwater wells of Morocco and has a surface area of 750 km . It is limited located in different parts of the study area during the in the north by the Ouled Mansour hills, in the west by the months of March, June, and November 2013. Measure- Kiss and Moulouya rivers, in the south by the Beni Snassen ments of pH, temperature, electric conductivity (EC) (using Mountains, and in the east by the Kiss River. It lies ORION STAR A111 and WATER PROOF CC-411), and 0 0 between latitudes 3505 N and 3455 N, and longitudes piezometric level were taken in situ. All water samples 0 0 223 W and 211 W (Fig. 1). Geologically, the plain is were collected in polyethylene bottles and stored in the formed by Tertiary and Quaternary formations consisting absence of light at 4 C. Major ions were analyzed in the ? ? 2? 2? - 2- - of alluvial material, silt, sandstone, limestone, and clay laboratory for K ,Na ,Ca ,Mg ,Cl ,SO ,NO , 4 3 - ? - - (Fetouani et al. 2008). In this region two aquifers are NO ,NH ,H PO (SKALAR method), and HCO 2 4 2 4 3 123 Appl Water Sci (2017) 7:4497–4512 4501 Table 1 Total Coliforms (TC), Fecal coliforms (FC), and Fecal Streptococci (FS) as colony forming units per 100 ml values measured in June 2013 and November 2013 Well June 2013 November 2013 TC FC FS TC FC FS 1 35 2313 2012 28 2 30 25 0 28 16 0 338 30 0 10 8 0 4 72 6216 2012 58 5 27 24 0 46 34 6 6 140 125 0 124 112 30 7 – – – 86 50 22 8 – –– 00 0 9– – – 12 0 0 10 – – – 56 14 40 11 – – – 24 8 94 12 80 3 0 72 2 6 13 50 3 2 – – – 14 31 20 2 50 46 6 15 25 13 3 22 12 0 16 23 14 0 24 0 0 17 0 0 0 30 12 0 18 73 23 0 62 16 0 19 32 0 13 98 76 108 20 85 61 0 78 50 24 21 50 0 0 122 82 30 22 20 3 0 66 36 66 23 41 34 0 84 66 0 24 45 5 0 42 0 106 25 10 0 0 14 12 0 26 102 62 0 96 50 4 27 43 25 0 34 0 0 28 108 28 1 104 94 0 29 17 4 50 0 0 10 30 21 20 3 0 0 0 31 17 13 0 10 8 0 32 60 53 20 44 0 56 33 0 12 0 0 0 0 34 102 88 4 68 64 2 Minimum 0 0 0 0 0 0 Maximum 140 125 50 124 112 108 Average 47.48 26.66 4.38 46.85 27.03 21.09 The values above 0 indicate potential contamination (Rodier 1984). Nitric acid was added to 50 ml of water to the spectral range 120–800 nm with a nitrogen sweep) in produce a 10% nitric acid concentration for the analysis of the National Center for Scientific and Technical Research, Al, Cd, Cu, Fe, and Zn, which were determined by atomic Rabat-Morocco. A database was then created on the geo- emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES; Ultima 2, JobinYvon: graphic information system (GIS) integrating. equipped with an optical system with two thermo-regulated Bacteriological analysis was conducted in the same networks of 4343 and 2400 rev/mm back to back, covering groundwater wells of the study area in June and November 123 4502 Appl Water Sci (2017) 7:4497–4512 b Fig. 5 EC (lS/cm) measured in the Triffa plain in a March, b June, and c November 2013, highlighting the changes in EC concentration between one period and another. The blue lines are the wadis 2013. All measurements were conducted on the same day in the quality control laboratory (University of Mohammed 1st, Morocco). Pathogens analyzed in this study include total coliforms (TC), fecal coliforms (FC), and fecal streptococci (FS: Intestinal Enterococci). Water samples of 100 ml each were filtered (pore size: 0.45 lm) and then transferred onto triphenyl-tetrazolium chloride (TTC) and tergicol lactose agar (AFNOR 1998), which were used as selective media for FC. The FC and TC were counted after 24 h incubation at 44 ± 1 C. For FS, the selective med- ium of Slanetz and Bartley was used. The FS were counted after incubation at 37 C for 24 h. The total number of bacteria was determined as colony forming units per 100 ml (CFU/100 ml). The principal component analysis (PCA) multivariate statistical technique was used in our research. This method is a quantitative and independent approach for the classi- fication of groundwater samples according to their geo- chemical characteristics and may simplify and organize large data sets to make useful groupings of similar samples (Kumar et al. 2013; Jilali et al. 2015b). The STATISTICA software was used to process the November 2013 vintage ? ? 2? data analyses. For this, the analyses of EC, K ,Na ,Ca , 2? - - 2- - Mg , HCO ,Cl ,SO and NO were used as 3 4 3 variables. Results and discussion Groundwater bacteriological quality Figures 2, 3, and 4 show the abundance of TC, CF, and FS in groundwater sampled in June and November 2013. – TC abundance varied from 0 to 140 CFU/100 ml in June and from 0 to 124 CFU/100 ml in November (Fig. 2); – FC abundance varied from 0 to 125 CFU/100 ml in June and from 0 to 112 CFU/100 ml in November (Fig. 3); – FS abundance varied from 0 to 50 CFU/100 ml in June and from 0 to 108 CFU/100 ml in November (Fig. 4). The results that show the contamination of groundwater affects nearly the whole region (Table 1; Figs. 2, 3, 4). Generally, the highest numbers of these bacteria groups were recorded in June, which is the dry period. One well, however, (no. 17) shows no contamination during the dry period. Otherwise, in the humid period (November) three 123 Appl Water Sci (2017) 7:4497–4512 4503 Table 2 Physicochemical parameters of groundwater sampled in the wells in March 2013 (NS: Static level) 2? 2? ? ? - 2- - Well Tp pH NS EC (lS/ NO - Ca Mg K Na Cl SO HCO 3 4 3 (C) (m) cm) (mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) 1 19 7.4 16.4 4970 100.7 270 255.2 7.8 529 1666.1 312 305 2 19.5 7.41 10.5 3870 60.5 130 200.5 11.7 540.5 974.9 547.2 427 3 20.3 7.2 13 3380 115.6 140 145 6.6 517.5 833.1 470.4 396.5 4 18.7 7.5 12 2520 118.9 110 127.6 5.5 322 390 470.4 366 5 20.8 7.3 18.5 3290 72.3 150 145.8 6.6 345 780 432 396.5 6 19 7.38 3 4070 78 160 182.3 9 540.5 957.1 672 457.5 7 19.7 7.32 4.5 3480 107.6 200 151.9 9.4 322 797.6 624 396.5 8 22 7.34 12 2820 55 150 133.6 3.1 322 673.6 259.2 366 9 20 7.64 16.5 2390 80 80 133.6 4.3 322 460.8 288 396.5 10 22.8 7.37 22 2080 44 80 109.4 3.1 276 425.4 163.2 396.5 11 20 7 5 3390 32.1 200 127.6 9 448.5 744.5 – – 12 19.5 7.22 11.5 2600 85 150 115.4 5.5 379.5 514 – – 13 23.5 7.13 3 135.7 170 127.6 12.5 460 638.1 – – 14 20.3 7.42 3.5 2400 63 170 60.7 10.1 345 478.6 – – 15 20 7.31 3 3570 130.7 170 170.1 11.3 368 833.1 672 396.5 16 23 7.3 12 5380 48 300 164 13.3 483 329.4 – – 22 20.3 7.3 11 2940 97.8 180 145.8 19.5 345 620.4 – – 24 20.4 7.63 12 3140 31.6 160 133.6 6.8 379.5 709 470.4 427 Minimum 18.7 7 3 2080 31.6 80 60.7 3.1 276 329.4 163.2 305 Maximum 23.5 7.64 22 5380 135.7 300 255.2 19.5 540.5 1666.1 672 457.5 Average 20.49 7.34 10.52 3311.18 80.92 165.00 146.09 8.62 402.50 712.54 448.40 393.96 Accuracy: Tp ± 0.1 C, pH ± 0.01, EC ± 0.25%, and ICP-AES ± 0.5% uncontaminated wells were observed (wells no. 8, 30, and indicate that the groundwater is slightly acid to alkaline 33). In addition, the abundance of bacteria was lower than water. The temperature of groundwater ranged between in the dry period (June). The highest numbers of bacteria 18.5 and 23.5 C. The EC values of groundwater samples were recorded in Madarh region (Fig. 1). On the other range from 740 to 5380 lS/cm in March, from 1170 to hand, a correlation between pH values and bacteria has 4120 lS/cm in June, and from 1590 to 7340 lS/cm in been established for the months of June (dry period) and November. The highest EC was recorded in the west part of November (humid period): with an increase in pH, the TC the study area (Fig. 5; Tables 2, 3). and FC values were generally lower (e.g., in the case of The hydrogeochemical facies of groundwater and the wells no. 5, 16, 19, 21, 22, 23, 31 and 34 located in the relationship between different dissolved ions can best be north of Hassi Smia flexure), whereas the FS values were understood by plotting geochemical data on a Piper dia- higher (e.g., in the case of wells no. 15, 29, 30 and 34 gram, which indicates an Na–K–Cl type water (Fig. 6). The located in the south of Hassi Smia flexure). The fecal diagram shows the evolution of major ions for two periods 2? 2? contamination is due to the injection of fecal organic (March and November). According to the Ca ,Mg , ? ? matter in septic tanks. Therefore, the abundance of bacteria Na , and K triangle, an increase in the concentration of 2? 2? ? depends on the richness of nutrients from human waste and Mg and decreases in Na and K were registered. animals (Al-Barakah F et al. 2017; Bahri and Saibi 2012; The results of plots of major ions with EC show that Merghem et al. 2016). chloride and sodium were strongly correlated with EC with R = 0.95 and 0.836, respectively (Fig. 7). These values Hydrochemistry of groundwater quality indicate that the groundwater salinities were mainly con- trolled by these ions. The possibility that salinization could According to Table 1, the pH values of the analyzed have been caused by seawater intrusion is not plausible, samples varied from 7 to 7.64 in March, from 6.7 to 8.9 in because Triffa is an unconfined aquifer, with no inflow in June, and from 6.75 to 9.62 in November. These values its north part. Thus, a plot of chloride versus sodium shows 123 4504 Appl Water Sci (2017) 7:4497–4512 Table 3 Physicochemical parameters of groundwater sampled in the wells in June 2013 and November 2013 (NS: Static level) Well June 2013 November 2013 - - 2- ? ? 2? 2? ? - 2- - - - - - Tp pH NS EC (lS/ NO Cl SO Tp pH NS EC (lS/ Na K Mg Ca NH (mg/ Cl SO CO HCO NO NO H PO 3 4 4 4 3 3 3 2 2 4 (C) (m) cm) (mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) (C) (m) cm) (mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) l) (mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) mg/l) 1 20.9 7.04 16 3730 146.5 1114.7 – 19.4 7.75 16.15 4100 426.7 8.5 116.57 188.94 0.06 856.12 367.71 0 228.8 38.76 0.06 \0.02 2 21 7.42 3 3750 44 731.3 – 18.9 7.22 9.6 5000 607.56 5.86 118.33 223.94 \0.02 1018.69 581.99 0 326.4 89.28 0.07 \0.02 3 21.1 7.05 16 3300 48.4 – – 20.6 7.63 13.5 4220 577.26 4.76 95.78 150.05 0.09 895.47 450.22 0 326.4 96.21 0.1 \0.02 4 19.9 7.6 12 2380 52.1 340.8 152.5 19.4 7.78 12.8 2880 396.45 3.23 61.45 106.19 0.07 364.12 453.58 0 289.8 168.28 \0.04 \0.02 5 21 6.7 18.5 3000 35.3 624.8 437.5 21.2 7.07 18 3660 338.38 6.87 109.49 218.65 0.08 730.86 389.38 0 255.64 84.91 \0.04 \0.02 6 20.7 7.05 2.6 3380 39.7 663.85 – 19.9 7.12 2.8 4790 602.71 6.51 119.58 216.1 0.08 953.41 597.05 0 426.44 94.55 \0.04 \0.02 7 19.8 7.12 4.5 3420 176 738.4 782.5 20.4 7.53 3 4280 414.56 8.43 108.42 261.04 0.08 764.81 559.67 0 289.8 114.05 \0.04 \0.02 8 22 7.34 12.5 2100 – – – 21 7.44 – 3380 346.27 2.95 74.29 185.89 0.07 620.9 337.77 0 216.6 69.93 \0.04 \0.02 9 21.4 7.25 17 2330 68.5 447.3 347.5 20.8 7.27 16.7 2770 334.67 6.04 57.57 106.67 0.09 444.82 307.8 0 241 87.5 \0.04 \0.02 10 21.5 7.5 25 2060 15.8 337.25 252.5 23.1 7.22 22 2410 300.18 2.18 44.78 96.21 0.06 411.78 214.98 0 236.12 48.04 \0.04 \0.02 11 20.5 7.2 5.1 3410 – – – 20.2 7.39 3.2 3670 417.16 6.06 88.97 184.89 0.07 665.27 490.24 0 209.28 62.1 \0.04 \0.02 12 22.4 6.97 14 2480 20.7 401.15 420 19.1 6.75 11 2890 336.8 3.84 62.74 128.64 0.04 465.84 320.88 0 372.76 54.13 \0.04 \0.02 13 20 7.29 3 3030 31 450.85 475 – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – 14 20.8 7.67 4.5 1200 10.5 113.6 472.5 20.8 7.15 4.8 2140 191.89 7.64 52.9 131.24 0.08 324.7 327.22 0 233.68 47.26 \0.04 \0.02 15 20.3 7.24 3.5 3380 212.9 653.2 497.5 20.5 7.02 3.8 4120 402 10.73 91.08 247.51 0.08 762.24 483.84 0 299.56 117.54 \0.04 \0.02 16 21.4 6.75 11.5 1170 40.3 869.75 402.5 21.3 6.99 11.6 5520 538.35 12.12 138.38 281.39 0.05 1317.31 396.79 0 216.6 79.83 \0.04 \0.02 17 21.4 7.14 30 3000 – 514.75 85 20.4 7.57 26 2250 317.08 6.95 50.03 79.3 0.09 193.85 363.11 0 519.16 16.18 \0.04 \0.02 18 20.7 8.9 11.9 3960 121 1345.45 73.75 20.6 9.62 12 5060 789.44 18.81 93.82 7.66 5.79 1401.5 23.63 14.4 304.44 1.69 \0.04 0.09 19 20.7 7.25 12 3130 22.3 631.9 275 18.5 7.28 7.9 2860 280.86 2.45 94.37 125.58 0.09 408 387.77 0 302 34.92 \0.04 \0.02 20 22 7.27 16 2270 33.8 379.85 252.5 20.5 7.23 13.5 2660 286.26 3.62 55.12 142.33 0.09 458.62 268.79 0 253.2 91.87 \0.04 \0.02 21 20.6 7.37 3 1400 17.9 358.55 335 20.6 7.33 3 3410 338.77 13.42 72 138.36 0.07 595.43 365.36 0 282.48 107.71 \0.04 \0.02 22 20.8 7.08 15 1420 34.4 447.3 230 21 7.37 14.3 3020 263.05 6.08 79.07 178.05 0.07 506.35 349.69 0 299.56 79.37 0.05 \0.02 23 21 7.14 5 1520 13.6 1480.35 347.5 20.8 7.05 5.4 7340 1031.5 15.29 198.59 199.85 0.03 1806.19 509.04 0 465.48 82.41 0.24 \0.02 24 19.7 7.37 7 2080 12 355 147.5 21.3 7.24 6 2940 252.69 15.03 75.78 168.07 0.07 485 379.26 0 323.96 56.51 \0.04 \0.02 25 21.8 7 14 4120 33.2 681.6 197.5 20.9 6.99 14.2 5230 611.02 15.17 125.21 265.07 0.08 1214.54 461.77 0 223.92 79.03 0.05 \0.02 26 21 7.05 8 3570 23.8 766.8 162.5 20.6 7.57 8 4690 460.67 10.4 98.86 234.85 0.08 994.07 427.14 0 209.28 91.28 \0.04 \0.02 27 20.4 7.7 20.5 2600 122.9 383.4 37.5 20.1 7.24 20 3260 451.25 3.33 45.73 92.76 0.07 439.07 419.81 0 392.28 149.38 \0.04 \0.02 28 19.8 7.27 34 1630 79.4 195.25 97.5 19.5 7.06 33.7 1955 177.57 1.82 53.5 129.65 0.37 191.22 302.93 0 314.2 82.41 \0.04 \0.02 29 21.6 7.01 40 1290 17.9 – – 20.5 7.1 43.1 1590 151.47 1 38.7 74.83 0.11 159.31 148.21 0 282.48 83.35 \0.04 \0.02 30 19.9 6.8 36 2200 15.8 294.65 60 21.5 7.66 37 2620 392.91 0.99 37.78 73.4 0.05 330.41 313.29 0 443.52 118.19 \0.04 \0.02 31 21.1 7.04 23 3970 38.7 926.55 105 20.3 7 22 5110 677.84 5.66 123.57 166.21 0.07 1111.02 398.13 0 309.32 157.9 \0.04 \0.02 32 22.8 7 14 2190 35 355 90 20.4 7.4 11.8 2700 284.87 5.48 44.83 117.64 0.12 436.15 242.19 0 358.12 67.26 \0.04 \0.02 33 22.7 7.14 27.5 1960 30.2 – – 23.2 7.08 27.5 3870 410.87 2.57 92.92 181.46 0.04 775.72 311.45 0 294.68 67.34 \0.04 \0.02 34 20.5 7.6 39.1 4010 – – – 20.7 7.21 40 3860 578.32 1.03 57.98 76.84 0.12 565.22 464.85 0 463.04 86.6 \0.04 \0.02 Minimum 19.7 6.7 2.6 1170 10.5 113.6 37.5 18.5 6.75 2.8 1590 151.47 0.99 37.78 7.66 0.03 159.31 23.63 0 209.28 1.69 \0.04 \0.02 Maximum 22.8 8.9 40 4120 212.9 1480.35 782.5 23.2 9.62 43.1 7340 1031.5 18.81 198.59 281.39 5.79 1806.19 597.05 14.4 519.16 168.28 0.24 0.09 Average 20.98 7.24 15.43 2660.00 53.12 592.98 269.45 20.55 7.34 15.45 3644.09 423.86 6.81 84.19 156.95 0.26 686.91 376.23 0.44 309.39 81.99 0.07 \0.02 Accuracy: Tp ± 0.1 C, pH ± 0.01, EC ± 0.25%, and ICP-AES ± 0.5% Appl Water Sci (2017) 7:4497–4512 4505 Fig. 6 Piper diagram for groundwater samples showing the hydrogeochemical facies and changes in the concentration of major ions between March and November a high correlation coefficient of 0.797 (Fig. 8), indicating The concentrations of NO in March, June, and that these ions have the same origin: the dissolution of November are in the range of: 31.6–135.7, 10.5–212.9, halite present in: (1) sedimentary rocks (DGH 1997;El and 1.7–168.3 mg/l, those of Cl are in the range of Mandour 1998; El Idrysy and Smedt 2006) or (2) saline 329.4–1666.4, 113.6–1480.3, and 159.3–1806.2, and 2- surface deposits (Chettouani and Damou 1993; Benkad- those of SO are in the range of 163.2–672, dour 1997). The plot of SO versus EC (Fig. 7) shows a 37.5–782.5, and 23.6–672 mg/l, respectively (Fig. 9; good correlation, indicating that the sulfate participates in Tables 2, 3). The high concentrations result from the water mineralization. On the other hand, a plot of SO presence of cultivation zones, where ammonium nitrate versus Ca (Fig. 8) indicates that the sulfate has the same is used as a chemical fertilizer. This observation is origin as Ca. A plot of HCO versus EC (Fig. 7) shows no similar to those made in other studies carried out in the linear correlation between them and indicates that the Triffa plain (Fetouani et al. 2008; Fekkoul et al. 2013). bicarbonate participates in the transfer reaction. On the The increases in other anions and cations occur due to other hand, the plot of HCO versus Ca (Fig. 8) indicates the concentration of these ions by recycling the the ionic association between them (Saber et al. 2013; groundwater as irrigation water (Bahri and Saibi 2012). Mallick 2017). Comparing the concentration of nitrate, chloride, and 123 4506 Appl Water Sci (2017) 7:4497–4512 Fig. 7 Major ion concentration (vertical axis) versus EC (horizontal axis). The linear correlation between them is shown by R 123 Appl Water Sci (2017) 7:4497–4512 4507 Fig. 8 Concentration of various major ions. The linear correlation between them is shown by R 123 4508 Appl Water Sci (2017) 7:4497–4512 b Fig. 9 Concentration of nitrates recorded in a March, b June, and c November 2013, highlighting the changes in NO concentration between one period and another. The blue lines are the wadis sulfate with the depth of the aquifer suggests that high concentrations takes place in the dry period. On the other hand, the plots of HCO versus SO and SO 3 4 4 versus Cl (Fig. 8) show that the pollutants are inputs from the soil surface and their origin is the same: from fertilizers and from animal and human wastes (Saber et al. 2013; Mallick 2017;UnnisaSandZainabBi 2017). According to WHO standards, the admissible levels of Cu, Zn, Al, Cd, and Fe in potable water are 2, 3, 0.2, 0.003, and 0.2 mg/l, respectively. The concentrations of trace metals in groundwater are generally within the admissible standard range, with the exception of Cu, Zn, Al for wells 24 and 26 measured in June, and wells 1 and 17 measured in November, and Fe for wells 12 and 26 measured in June, and wells 1, 18, 27, and 33 measured in November. For Cd, all samples of groundwater present contamination with a concentration higher than 0.003 mg/l (Table 4). This con- tamination comes probably from the pesticides used for irrigation and the discharge located in the southern part of Berkane. PCA The data were processed by the STATISTICA software package. The variables of Mg, Ca, Na, K, Cl, HCO ,SO , 3 4 NO3 and EC were used for the PCA test (Table 5). Three factors were extracted; factor 1 shows strong positive loadings of EC, Mg, Cl, Na and K with 51.91% of Total Variance (TV: 85.45%); factor 2 shows strong negative loadings of NO ,SO and Ca with 17.98% of TV; and 3 4 factor 3 shows a strong negative loading of HCO3 with 15.56 of TV. The spatial distribution of the variables and individuals in the axes system F1-F2 and F1-F3 are showed in Figs. 10 and 11. Considering the spatial distribution of the variables and individuals in the axe systems of F1-F2 we can conclude the presence of two groups of waters. Group 1 corresponds to the waters from the south-west part of the study area. This group which is located in a fractured zone suggest that the area of recharge (Oued Cherra ˆ a) and the mixture of groundwater between unconfined and confined aquifers facilitated by faults. Group 2 consists of the waters of wells situated in the center of Triffa plain (an intensive irrigation zone), where agricultural activities take place. 123 Appl Water Sci (2017) 7:4497–4512 4509 Table 4 Metal concentrations of groundwater sampled in the wells in June 2013 and November 2013 (mg/l) Well June 2013 November 2013 AL Cd Cu Fe Zn Al Cd Cu Fe Zn 1 – 0.022 0.026 0.062 0.386 0.22 0.03 0.05 0.44 0.22 2 0.061 0.027 0.13 0.06 0.078 0.03 0.02 0.03 0.03 0.01 3 – 0.022 0.028 0.049 0.18 0.06 0.02 0.04 0.03 0.04 4 0.189 0.023 0.12 0.095 0.074 0.13 0.02 0.04 0.12 0.21 5 – 0.021 0.031 0.046 0.01 B0.006 0.02 0.04 0.08 0.06 6 – 0.02 0.025 0.141 0.189 0.25 0.02 0.04 0.08 0.63 7 0.056 0.02 0.028 0.069 0.02 0.11 0.03 0.05 0.15 0.12 8 0.062 0.024 0.12 0.116 0.114 0.02 0.02 0.04 0.08 0.12 9 – 0.02 0.25 0.083 0.08 B0.006 0.04 0.04 0.06 0.02 10 – 0.021 0.025 0.388 0.162 B0.006 0.09 0.06 0.07 0.08 11 – 0.02 0.024 0.032 0.01 0.07 0.03 0.04 0.06 0.08 12 0.1 0.023 0.121 0.493 0.107 B0.006 0.02 0.04 0.09 0.09 13 0.172 0.027 0.122 0.045 0.077 – – – – – 14 – 0.021 0.025 0.066 0.01 0.07 0.02 0.03 0.12 0.03 15 – – – – – 0.02 0.02 0.03 0.03 0.07 16 0.352 0.028 0.122 0.042 0.05 0.02 0.07 0.03 0.03 0.08 17 0.093 0.026 0.125 0.082 0.157 0.46 0.05 0.03 0.34 0.43 18 0.548 0.034 0.129 0.05 0.471 0.33 0.04 0.04 4.07 0.06 19 0.059 0.034 0.122 0.119 0.078 0.06 0.03 0.03 0.16 0.06 20 0.062 0.026 0.122 0.062 0.058 0.16 0.02 0.03 0.23 0.06 21 0.072 0.025 0.121 0.074 0.076 0.05 0.02 0.03 0.07 0.03 22 0.473 0.029 0.12 0.076 0.003 0.06 0.03 0.03 0.09 0.06 23 0.073 0.043 0.123 0.091 0.027 0.1 0.03 0.03 0.14 0.04 24 0.146 0.029 0.12 0.118 0.031 0.04 0.03 0.03 0.09 0.05 25 0.168 0.43 0.127 0.049 0.059 B0.006 0.07 0.06 0.04 0.16 26 0.291 0.033 0.122 0.453 0.039 0.02 0.06 0.04 0.07 0.32 27 – – – – – 0.17 0.02 0.03 0.25 0.09 28 – – – – – 0.18 0.05 0.03 0.19 0.15 29 –– ––– B0.006 0.02 0.02 0.06 0.01 30 –– ––– B0.006 0.02 0.02 0.11 0.14 31 – – – – – 0.1 0.04 0.03 0.15 0.1 32 – – – – – 0.13 0.02 0.03 0.13 0.11 33 –– ––– B0.006 0.03 0.03 0.5 0.05 34 –– ––– B0.006 0.03 0.03 0.06 0.09 Minimum 0.056 0.02 0.024 0.032 0.003 B0.006 0.02 0.02 0.03 0.01 Maximum 0.548 0.43 0.25 0.493 0.471 0.46 0.09 0.06 4.07 0.63 Average 0.18 0.04 0.10 0.12 0.10 0.07 0.03 0.04 0.25 0.12 The values above the admissible range indicate potential contamination 123 4510 Appl Water Sci (2017) 7:4497–4512 Table 5 Correlation coefficients of physicochemical parameters of well groundwater EC Na K Mg Ca Cl SO4 HCO3 NO3 EC 1.00 0.91 0.60 0.92 0.55 0.98 0.47 0.05 0.12 Na 1.00 0.48 0.75 0.20 0.89 0.34 0.29 0.12 K 1.00 0.57 0.33 0.67 0.05 -0.13 -0.23 Mg 1.00 0.67 0.90 0.51 -0.05 0.03 Ca 1.00 0.49 0.66 -0.36 0.20 Cl 1.00 0.29 -0.05 0.00 SO4 1.00 0.17 0.44 HCO3 1.00 0.04 NO3 1.00 The values close to 1 indicate a good correlation Conclusions The results obtained from the 34 analyzed samples show that groundwater quality in the Triffa aquifer is poor. High concentrations of nitrates and EC were recorded in the western part of the Triffa plain, and in over half of the tested wells exceeded the standard level set for drinking water by the WHO (50 mg/l). The bacteriological data (TC, FC, and FS) showed that almost all of the samples were contaminated. The contamination came from septic tanks and the wastewater dumped in the Charaa wadi (river). In general, the results for metals (Cu, Zn, Al, Fe) were within the acceptable range for drinking water, except for Cd, a contamination that could be dangerous for human life. Multivariate statistical analysis undertaken using PCA of major hydrochemical ions identified three major geo- chemical processes with 85.45% of TV. Thus, the groundwater from the Triffa plain is recommended for irrigation and domestic use (house cleaning, etc.). Fig. 10 Spatial distribution of the variables in the axes system a F1- F2 and b F1-F3 123 Appl Water Sci (2017) 7:4497–4512 4511 Fig. 11 Spatial distribution of the individuals in the axes system a F1-F2 and b F1-F3 123 4512 Appl Water Sci (2017) 7:4497–4512 Acknowledgments The authors wish to thank Dr. Mike Mlynarczyk Fekkoul A, Zarhloule Y, Boughriba M, A-e Barkaoui, Jilali A, Bouri for helping improve this manuscript and two anonymous reviewers. S (2013) Impact of anthropogenic activities on the groundwater resources of the unconfined aquifer of Triffa plain (eastern Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Morocco). 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