Journal of Advances in Environmental Health Research

Journal of Advances in Environmental Health Research

Hydrogeochemical Characterization Using Piper Diagram of the Groundwater Surrounding the Wild Dump of the El Hajeb Town, Morocco

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Abderrahmane Gamar
Zakaria Khiya
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University Moulay Ismail, Meknes, Morocco
10.34172/jaehr.1373
Abstract
Background: The availability of groundwater with acceptable quality has become a significant challenge in many regions worldwide, particularly in Morocco. This issue is exacerbated by severe climatic conditions and pollution, which render groundwater resources increasingly vulnerable to various contamination factors. The Plateau of the El Hajeb region is part of the Causse Middle Atlas and the water table of the grand basin of Saïs, two major main reservoirs of groundwater in Morocco. In this context, the primary aim of this study is to identify the geochemical facies of the groundwater in the region housing the municipal waste dump. Additionally, the study seeks to determine the sources of mineralization affecting these waters.
Methods: Over the course of two sampling campaigns conducted between 2015 and 2018, groundwater samples were collected from 97 points. These points were strategically located around the municipal waste dump and along the groundwater flow, including wells, boreholes, and springs. Analyses were conducted in accredited laboratories following standardized methods, with a focus on the determination of major ions.
Results: The results of the geochemical analysis, as represented by the Piper diagram, revealed a calco-bicarbonate facies with low mineralization. This low mineralization does not affect the potability of the waters, thus maintaining their suitability for human consumption. The carbonate formations (calcite and dolomite) constitute the host rocks of the groundwater.
Conclusion: Chlorination and/or sulfation alteration processes were observed, contributing to the presence of specific ionic species associated with anthropogenic pollution.
Keywords
Groundwater
Analyzes
Geochemical facies
Piper’s diagram
Morocco
Subjects
  1. Missenard Y, Zeyen H, Frizon de Lamotte D, Leturmy P, Petit C, Sébrier M, et al. Crustal versus asthenospheric origin of relief of the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. J Geophys Res Solid Earth. 2006;111(B3):B03401. doi: 1029/2005jb003708.
  2. Ellero A, Ottria G, Malusà MG, Ouanaimi H. Structural geological analysis of the High Atlas (Morocco): evidences of a transpressional fold-thrust belt. In: Sharkov E, ed. Tectonics-Recent Advances. IntechOpen; 2012. doi: 5772/50071.
  3. Weldeab S, Lea DW, Schneider RR, Andersen N. 155,000 years of West African monsoon and ocean thermal evolution. Science. 2007;316(5829):1303-7. doi: 1126/science.1140461.
  4. Tjallingii R, Claussen M, Stuut JB, Fohlmeister J, Jahn A, Bickert T, et al. Coherent high- and low-latitude control of the northwest African hydrological balance. Nat Geosci. 2008;1(10):670-5. doi: 1038/ngeo289.
  5. Charrière A. Héritage hercynien et évolution géodynamique alpine d’une chaine intracontinentale: le Moyen-Atlas au sud-est de Fes (Maroc) [dissertation]. Etat, Toulouse-III. 1990. p. 589.
  6. Charroud M. Evolution géodynamique de la partie sud-ouest du Moyen Atlas durant le passage Jurassique Crétacé, le Crétacé et le Paléogène [dissertation]. Rabat: Université Mohammed V; 1990. p. 232.
  7. Frizon de Lamotte D, Crespo-Blanc A, Saint-Bézar B, Comas M, Fernadez M, Zeyen H, et al. TRASNSMED-transect. In: Cavazza W, Roure F, Spakman W, Stampfli GM, Ziegler PA, eds. The TRANSMED Atlas — The Mediterranean Region from Crust to Mantle. Berlin: Springer; 2004. p. 91-6.
  8. Frizon de Lamotte D, Zizi M, Missenard Y, Hafid M, Azzouzi ME, Maury RC, et al. The atlas system. In: Michard A, Saddiqi O, Chalouan A, de Lamotte DF, eds. Continental Evolution: The Geology of Morocco: Structure, Stratigraphy, and Tectonics of the Africa-Atlantic-Mediterranean Triple Junction. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer; 2008. p. 133-202. doi: 1007/978-3-540-77076-3_4.
  9. Sabaoui A. Rôles des inversions dans l’évolution mésocénozoïque du Moyen Atlas Septentrional (Maroc). [dissertation]. L’exemple de la transversale EL Menzel - Ribat al Khayr - Bou Iblane; 1998. p. 410.
  10. Amraoui F, Razack M, Bouchaou L. Comportement d’une source karstique soumise à une sécheresse prolongée: la source Bittit (Maroc). Collect C R Geosci. 2004;336(12):1099-109. doi: 1016/j.crte.2004.03.016.
  11. Bzioui M. Rapport national 2004 sur les ressources en eau au Maroc. UN Water Africa; 2004. p. 94.
  12. Amraoui F. Contribution à la reconnaissance des aquifères karstiques, cas du Lias de la plaine de Saiss et du causse moyen atlasique tabulaire (Maroc) [dissertation]. Casablanca, Maroc: Université Hassan II Ain Chock, Faculté des Sciences; 2005. p. 227.
  13. Luterbacher J, Xoplaki E, Casty C, Wanner H, Pauling A, Küttel M, et al. Mediterranean climate variability over the last centuries: a review. In: Lionello P, Malanotte-Rizzoli P, Boscolo R, eds. Developments in Earth and Environmental Sciences. Vol 4. Amsterdam: Elsevier; 2006. p. 27-148. doi: 1016/s1571-9197(06)80004-2.
  14. Esper J, Büntgen U, Frank DC, Nievergelt D, Liebhold A. 1200 years of regular outbreaks in alpine insects. Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2006;274(1610):671-9. doi: 1098/rspb.2006.0191.
  15. Etebaai I, Damnati B, Raddad H, Benhardouz H, Benhardouz O, Miche H, et al. Impacts climatiques et anthropiques sur le fonctionnement hydrogéochimique du Lac Ifrah (Moyen Atlas marocain). Hydrol Sci J. 2012;57(3):547-61. doi: 1080/02626667.2012.660158.
  16. Miche H, Saracco G, Mayer A, Qarqori K, Rouai M, Dekayir A, et al. Hydrochemical constraints between the karst Tabular Middle Atlas Causses and the Saïs basin (Morocco): implications of groundwater circulation. Hydrogeol J. 2018;26(1):71-87. doi: 1007/s10040-017-1675-0.
  17. Bouchaou L, Tagma T, Boutaleb S, Hssaisoune M, El Morjani ZE. Climate change and its impacts on groundwater resources in Morocco: the case of the Souss-Massa basin. In: Climate Change Effects on Groundwater Resources: A Global Synthesis of Findings and Recommendations. CRC Press; 2011. p. 129-44.
  18. Ait Kadi M, Ziyad A. Integrated water resources management in Morocco. In: Global Water Security: Lessons Learnt and Long-Term Implications. Singapore: Springer; 2018. p. 143-63. doi: 1007/978-981-10-7913-9_6.
  19. Chamayou J, Combe M, Genetier B, Leclerc C. Le bassin de Meknès-Fè. In: Maroc EdS, Ed. Ressources en Eau du Maroc; 1975. p. 41-71.
  20. Bentayeb A, Leclerc C. Le Causse moyen- atlasique. In: Editions du Service Géologique du Maroc, Ed. Ressources en Eau du Maroc; 1977. p. 37-84.
  21. Martin J. Le Moyen Atlas central. Etude. Etude Géomorphologique. Notes et Mémoires du Service géologique du Maroc. No. 258 bis. 1981.
  22. Essahlaoui A, Sahbi H, Bahi L, El-Yamine N. Preliminary survey of the structure and hydrogeology of the western Saiss Basin, Morocco, using electrical resistivity. J Afr Earth Sci. 2001;32(4):777-89. doi: 1016/S0899-5362(02)00054-4.
  23. Qarqori K, Rouai M, Moreau F, Saracco G, Dauteuil O, Hermitte D, et al. Geoelectrical tomography investigating and modeling of fractures network around Bittit spring (Middle Atlas, Morocco). Int J Geophys. 2012;2012(1):489634. doi: 1155/2012/489634.
  24. Kabbaj A, Combe M. Présentation du Domaine Atlasique. In: Editions du service géologique du Maroc, Ressources en eau du Maroc, domaine atlasique et sud atlasique. - Notes et mémoires du service géologique du Maroc. 1977;231:29-36.
  25. ABHS - Anzar Conseil. Study of the groundwater modelling of the Fez-Meknes (Sais) plain. Technical Report, Mission I: Analysis andcritical studies in the plain by ABHS. 2005. P. 107.
  26. Essahlaoui A. Contribution à la reconnaissance des formations aquifères dans le Bassin de Meknès-Fès (Maroc), Prospection géo-électrique, étude hydrogéologique et inventaire des ressources en eau [dissertation]. Rabat, Maroc: Université Mohammed VI; 2000.
  27. SHRD-Report of the Sebou Hydraulic Region Direction, 1990.
  28. Harmouzi O, Riss J, Essahlaoui A, Marache A, Sirieix C. Interprétation de sondages électriques verticaux par combinaison de méthodes statistique, géostatistique et d’inversion: application au bassin de Saïss (Maroc). Afr Geosci Rev. 2009;16(2):119-40.
  29. Aley T, Aley C, Elliott WR, Huntoon PW. Karst and cave resource significance assessment, Ketchikan area, Tongass National Forest, Alaska. Final Report, prepared for the Ketchikan Area of the Tongass National Forest. 1993.
  30. Harmouzi O. Reconnaissance détaillée de la partie nord-est du Bassin de Saïss (MAROC): interprétation de sondages électriques verticaux par combinaison des méthodes statistique, géostatistique et d’inversion [dissertation]. Maroc: Université Moulay Ismail; 2010.
  31. Ford DC, Williams PW. Karst Geomorphology and Hydrology. London: Unwin Hyman; 1989. p. 601.
  32. Qarqori KH. Contribution to the study of the discontinuous and karstic reservoir of the Middle Atlasic Causses and its junction with the Saïs basin by remote sensing and geophysical imagery [dissertation]. Meknès, Morocco: Université Moulay Ismail; 2015.
  33. Kirkland DW. National Cave and Karst Research Institute special paper 2: Role of hydrogen sulfide in the formation of cave and karst phenomena in the Guadalupe Mountains and Western Delaware Basin, New Mexico and Texas. Environmental Sustainability Books; 2014. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/tlespub/3.
  34. Bahaj T, Wartiti M, Zahraoui M, Essahlaoui A, Caboi R. Aspects of groundwater geochemistry from Middle Atlas and Saiss basin (Northern Morocco). In: Wanty RB, Seal RR, eds. Water–Rock Interaction. London: Taylor and Francis; 2004. p. 343-6.
  35. White WB. Geomorphology and Hydrology of Karst Terrains. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 1988. p. 464.
  36. Didi S, Najine A. Application des méthodes géophysiques a l’étude structurale et dans l’identification des fissurées aquifères dans le plateau de Meknes, Maroc. Am J Innov Res Appl Sci. 2017;4(4):163-73.
  37. Belkhiri A. Integrated water resources management, resource protection: Sebou Basin. Rev HTE. 2007;137:9-22.
  38. Benaabidate L, Fryar AE. Controls on ground water chemistry in the central Couloir Sud Rifain, Morocco. Ground Water. 2010;48(2):306-19. doi: 1111/j.1745-6584.2008.00533.x.
  39. Parkhurst DL, Appelo CA. User’s guide to PHREEQC (Version 2): A computer program for speciation, batch-reaction, one-dimensional transport, and inverse geochemical calculations. US Geol Surv Water Resour Invest Rep. 1999;99-4259.
  40. Simler R. Software “Diagrammes,” Laboratoire d’Hydrologie d’Avignon, Université d’Avignon et pays du Vaucluse, France. 2012. Available from: http://www.lha.univ-avignon.fr.
  41. Nour AM, Abderamane H, Idriss MY, Djekobe HA, Bouzed HB. Study of the physico-chemical and bacteriological quality of water intended for consumption in the town of Gagal, southwestern Chad. J Appl Nat Sci. 2023;15(3):908-16. doi: 31018/jans. v15i3.4560.
  42. Rajmohan N, Masoud MHZ, Niyazi BA. Assessment of groundwater quality and associated health risk in the arid environment, Western Saudi Arabia. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2021;28(8):9628-46. doi: 1007/s11356-020-11383-x.
  43. Macioszczyk A, Dobrzyński D. Hydrogeochemia: strefy aktywnej wymiany wód podziemnych. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN; 2002. p. 448.
  44. Dindane K, Bouchaou L, Hsissou Y, Boutaleb S. Caractérisation chimique et origine des eaux de la nappe libre du Souss amont (Bassin du Souss-Massa, Maroc). Afr Geosci Rev. 2007;14(3):329-35.
  45. Fetterer F, Gineris D, Johnson C. Remote sensing aids in sea‐ice analysis. Eos, Transactions American Geophysical Union. 1993;74(24):265-8. doi: 1029/93eo00380.
  46. Thomas C, Orban P, Brouyère S. Mise en évidence des concentrations géochimiques de référence dans les nappes phréatiques tertiaires et du Socle en zone d’alimentation. Rapport final, Département d’Architecture, Géologie, Environnement & Constructions Université de Liège. Juillet 2019.
  47. Michałowski T, Asuero AG. Thermodynamic modelling of dolomite behavior in aqueous media. Journal of Thermodynamics. 2012;2012(1):723052. doi: 1155/2012/723052.
  48. Alayat H, LA Mouroux C. Caractérisation physico-chimique des eaux thermominerales des monts de la cheffia, (extrême N-E algérien) GEO-ECO-MARINA 13, Coastal Zone processes and management. Environmental Legislation. 2007; 75-84.
  49. Stournaras G, Panag Oupoulos A, Sotiropoulou K. La signification hydrogéologique des conditions hydrochimiques et géomorphologiques d’un terrain gypseux, Les sources de Drymos (Grece occidentale), Annales de l’université de Provence, XVI. 1989.
  50. Szymanska-Pulikowska A. Calcium and magnesium in underground waters around a communal waste dump. J Elementol. 2008;13(3):391-9.
  51. Kumar SK, Rammohan V, Sahayam JD, Jeevanandam M. Assessment of groundwater quality and hydrogeochemistry of Manimuktha River basin, Tamil Nadu, India. Environ Monit Assess. 2009;159(1-4):341-51. doi: 1007/s10661-008-0633-7.
  52. Subba Rao N. Factors controlling the salinity in groundwater in parts of Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, India. Environ Monit Assess. 2008;138(1-3):327-41. doi: 1007/s10661-007-9801-4.
  53. Matini L, Tathy C, Moutou JM. Seasonal groundwater quality variation in Brazzaville, Congo. Res J Chem Sci. 2012;2(1):7-14.
  54. Audubert R. Les ions en solutions, P.U.F Paris. 1955; Tome 1, p.90.
  55. Roques H. Fondements théoriques du traitement chimique des eaux. Paris: Technique et Documentation-Lavoisier; 1990.
Journal of Advances in Environmental Health Research
Volume 13, Issue 2
Winter 2025
Pages 104-113