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Assessment and modeling of groundwater quality by using water quality index (WQI) and GIS technique in meknes aquifer (Morocco)

Assessment and modeling of groundwater quality by using water quality index (WQI) and GIS... GEOLOGY, ECOLOGY, AND LANDSCAPES INWASCON https://doi.org/10.1080/24749508.2021.1944797 RESEARCH ARTICLE Assessment and modeling of groundwater quality by using water quality index (WQI) and GIS technique in meknes aquifer (Morocco) a,b b b c El Moustaine Radouane , Abdelkader Chahlaoui , Abdelmonaim Maliki and Abderrazzaq Boudellah Doctor in Hydrobiology and Biodiversity, Full Professor at the Ministry of National Education, Doctorate Researcher Attached to the Environment and Health Laboratory, Natural Resources Management and Valorization Team at the Faculty of Sciences of Meknes, Morocco; Laboratory of Environment and Health, Natural Resources Management and Valorization Team, Faculty of Sciences, University Moulay Ismail, Zitoune Meknes, Morocco; Laboratory of Food, Environment and Health, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakech, Morocco ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY Received 9 March 2021 Assessment of groundwater quality is important for drinking water, especially for rural popula- Accepted 15 June 2021 tions. The aim of this study was to assess the groundwater quality for human consumption by integrating the water quality index with geographic information system (GIS) for the eventual KEYWORDS interpretation of Meknes area water quality. Eight wells and two springs were investigated Geographical information between February 2013 and February 2014. In light of the analysis results, spatial distribution systems (GIS); physico- 2+ 2+ 2− + − maps of chosen physico-chemical parameters such as pH, O , EC, Ca , Mg , SO , NH , NO chemical parameters; water 2 4 4 3 − 3− 2− – , NO , PO , SO and HCO were prepared using GIS. Water Quality Index (WQI) approach quality; water quality index 2 4 4 3 (wqi); meknes area is utilized with the groundwater parameters and spatial distribution maps have been devel- oped using GIS for the obtained indexes. The anthropogenic activities may be the likely cause of poor water quality. The north and north-west regions are influenced by anthropogenic inputs from the leaching of landfill and wastewater, whereas the south-west region is affected by agricultural runoff due to a quite high level of agricultural activity. The WQI values varied from 28.88 to 187.18. According to WQI classification, 30% of samples are unsuitable for drinking water purposes. These findings indicate the need for serious reflection on the part of the planners and decision-makers for efficient management of the groundwater resources. 1. Introduction analysis extension of GIS allows interpolation of the groundwater quality parameters at unknown locations Groundwater has become the most important source from known values to create a continuous surface of water used for domestic, industrial, and agricul- which helps us understand the distribution of water tural sectors of many countries. Indeed, groundwater quality parameters of the study area (Shabbir & is the major source of water supply and presently it Ahmad, 2015; Sumathi et al., 2008). Moreover, the is the most valuable natural resource for various water quality index (WQI) technique ranks the com- human activities (Prasad & Narayana, 2004). More bined effects of individual water quality parameters than one third of the world’s population relies upon with respect to the overall water quality groundwater for direct consumption and food pro- (Akkaraboyina & Raju, 2012). WQI is useful in obtain- duction (Morris et al., 2003). Furthermore, to pro- ing water quality information for targeted citizens and vide safe drinking water especially to rural decision makers (Ramakrishnaiah et al., 2009). populations, groundwater has been sought as the The index was first developed by Horton in 1965 to source in many developing and under-developed measure water quality by using 10 most regularly used countries (Gordana et al., 2014). Consequently, sev- water parameters. However, the WQI approach has eral countries are facing serious water scarcity and been applied in several countries, such as India (Gorai poor water quality. The quality of drinking water & Kumar, 2013; Magesh & Chandrasekar, 2013; has increasingly been questioned from a health point Tiwari & Ma, 1985), Zimbabwe (Muzenda et al., of view for many decades. 2019), Algeria (Boufekane & Saighi, 2018, 2019), Geographic information system (GIS) can be Nigeria (Ishaku, 2011), Egypt (El-Zeiny & Elbeih, a powerful tool for developing solutions for water 2019) to assessing the quality of groundwater . resources problems, assessing water quality, flooding, In Morocco, various groundwater-related studies understanding the natural environment, and for have been piloted to determine potential sites for managing water resources on a local and/or regional groundwater evaluation (Bouchaou et al., 2020; Heib scale (Ferry et al., 2003). Furthermore, the spatial CONTACT El moustaine Radouane r_elmoustaine@yahoo.com Doctor in Hydrobiology and Biodiversity, Full Professor at the Ministry of National Education, Doctorate Researcher Attached to the Environment and Health Laboratory, Natural Resources Management and Valorization Team at the Faculty of Sciences of Meknes, Morocco © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group on behalf of the International Water, Air & Soil Conservation Society(INWASCON). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. 2 E. M. RADOUANE ET AL. et al., 2017; Jamaa et al., 2020; Laraichi & Hammani, sediments. The bedrock of the basin is mainly formed 2018; Re et al., 2013) and groundwater quality modeling by dolomites and limestones of the lias, and locally by by using GIS and WQI index (El Mountassir et al., the Triassic clays or shales Primary (Amraoui, 2005). 2020; Nait Mensour et al., 2019). The WQI is charac- For this study, eight wells and two springs were selected terized as a grading (Chaurasia et al., 2018) mirroring and investigated, and have been studied monthly for the combined impact of various parameters present in 1 year, from February 2013 to January 2014. Most of the the groundwater quality (Jamshidzadeh & Barzi, 2018). 10 studied stations are used for agricultural, domestic The WQI is computed from the perspective of the purposes and drinking water. Groundwater samples appropriateness of groundwater for individual utiliza- were collected from a variety of aquifers in Meknes tion. However, no previous study has been investigated region (Figure 1). Most of the 10 studied stations are in Meknes region. The present study aimed to assess used for agricultural, domestic purposes and drinking and model the groundwater quality for drinking pur- water. Three wells were selected at the northern part poses of the Meknes aquifer by using the Geographic (well P1 and well P2); these wells are located near the Information System (GIS) and Water Quality Index landfill; three at the eastern part (well P6, well P7, and (WQI). Hence, the goal of the current study is to assess well P8) are located near the wastewater discharges; and the impact of the anthropogenic activities in the three at the southern part (well P3, well P4, and well P4) Meknes region on groundwater quality using the WQI. are located at high level of agricultural activity. Two springs were selected at the southern part (springs S1 and springs S2). 2. Material and methods 2.1. Study area 2.2. Groundwater data and GIS analyses The study area (Figure 1) is located in the northern Temperature (T°), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and central region of Morocco, and it is located mainly in dissolved oxygen (O2) were measured in field with the Saïss basin. It is located between the cities of a portable multi-parameter probe (Consort 933, Meknes and Fes in Morocco, situated at 33° 53ʹ WTW). Samples for chemical analysis were collected north, – 5° 30ʹ west, and 34° 04ʹ north, – 4° 57ʹ west, 2+ in washed polyethylene bottles. Calcium (Ca ), mag- at an elevation of approximately 400 m. The water 2+ − 2− nesium (Mg ), chloride (Cl ), sulphates (SO ), supply for human activities in the Saïss plain comes 4 ammonical nitrogen (NH –N), nitrate (NO ), Nitrite from a shallow aquifer located in the plio-pleistocene 4 3 Figure 1. Study area. GEOLOGY, ECOLOGY, AND LANDSCAPES 3 − 3− (NO ), orthophosphate (PO ), and hydrogencarbo- depending on their importance in the overall quality 2 4 nate (HCO ) were measured by the methods proposed of water for drinking purposes (Rokbani et al., 2011). by (Rodier et al., 2009). All the chemical constituents In the second step, the relative weight (Wi) of each are expressed in mg/l (milligrams/liter) except pH. parameter is computed using Eq. (1): The spatial distribution of groundwater quality wi 2+ 2+ 2− Wi ¼ P (1) parameters such as pH, O , EC, Ca , Mg , SO , 2 4 n wi + − − 3− 2− – NH , NO , NO , PO , SO and HCO con- 4 3 2 4 4 3 centrations were carried out through GIS techniques. where wi is the weight of each parameter, n is the The resulting spatial variation maps were showed in number of parameters, and Wi is the relative weight. Figures 2–13. However, an interpolation technique of The weight (wi), the calculated relative weight (Wi) inverse distance weighting (IDW) has been applied to values, and the WHO standards for each parameter elaborate the variation map of the water quality index are given in Table 1. (WQI) (Figure 14) . In the third step, the quality rating scale (qi) for any parameter was determined using Eq. (2). Ci qi ¼ � 100 (2) 2.4. Calculation of Water Quality Index (WQI) Si Water quality index (WQI) is an essential parameter where qi is the quality rating, Ci is the concentration of for evaluating groundwater quality and its suitability each physicochemical parameter in each water sample, for drinking purposes (Saeedi & Sharifi, 2010). WQI is and Si is the drinking water standard for each physico- a mathematical equation used to summarize a large chemical parameter according to the guidelines of the number of water quality data into a single number and WHO, 2011. understandable format (Štambuk-Giljanović, 1999). In Then, for deriving the WQI value, the water quality this study, WQI can be calculated to evaluate ground- sub-index (SIi) for each parameter is computed using water quality using the 13 measured parameters in Eq. (3). each sampled site. For computing WQI, four steps SIi ¼ Wiqi (3) are followed: In the first step, each of the 10 parameters (pH, Finally, water quality sub-index is used to calculate the 2+ 2+ − 2- − – EC,O , Ca , Mg , Cl , SO , HCO , NO and 2 4 3 3 WQI using Eq. (4). NO ) has been assigned a weight (wi) according to its relative substance in the overall quality of ground- WQI ¼ SIi (4) water for drinking purposes (Table 1). Prejudiced values were assigned according to relative significance The approach used in this study is similar to that used of groundwater parameter in drinking water quality (El by other researchers (Sathees et al., 2020; El-Zeiny & Mountassir et al., 2020; Ramakrishnaiah et al., 2009). Elbeih, 2019; Francis et al., 2020; Gebrehiwot et al., The maximum weight of 5 has been assigned to para- 2011; Gorai & Kumar, 2013; Jha et al., 2015; El meters like total dissolved oxygen, sulfate, and nitrate Mountassir et al., 2020; Muzenda et al., 2019; due to their major importance in water quality assess- Pradhan et al., 2001; Rabeiy, 2017; Ramachandran ment (Srinivasamoorthy et al., 2008). Nitrite is given et al., 2020; Saeedi & Sharifi, 2010; Talebiniya et al., a minimum weight of 1 as it plays an insignificant role 2019; Re et al., 2013) in the water quality assessment. Other parameters, such The computed WQI values are classified into five as pH, EC, calcium, magnesium, chloride, and bicarbo- types, “excellent water” to “water, unsuitable for nate, were assigned a weight between 1 and 5 drinking” shown in Table 2. Table 1. Weight and relative weight of each parameter used 3. Results and discussion for the WQI calculation. 3.1. Assessment of groundwater quality Relative Physicochemical World Health Organization Weight weight parameters (WHO) (2011) (wi) (Wi) The variation of the physicochemical data of the sta- pH 6.5–8.5 4 0.118 tions studied is shown in Table 3. Also, Table 1 shows EC (µs/cm) 500 4 0.118 some descriptive statistics for the 12 physico-chemical O (mg/L) 5 5 0.147 Cl (mg/L) 250 3 0.088 parameters monitored in 10 sampling stations for HCO (mg/L) 120 3 0.088 2 – a 12-month period, totaling 1440 (10 × 12 × 12) data SO (mg/L) 250 5 0.147 NO (mg/L) 50 5 0.147 points. NO – (mg/L) 3 1 0.029 The pH values ranged from 6.99 to 7.31. The spatial 2+ Mg (mg/L) 50 2 0.058 2+ Ca (mg/L) 75 2 0.058 distribution map of pH shows that the groundwater of 34 0.998 study area is slightly neutral. The highest pH is 4 E. M. RADOUANE ET AL. Table 2. WQI value and rating water quality. O2 shows that the northern part of study area has low WQI value Rating of Water Quality concentration of O , whereas southern part of the 0–25 Excellent water quality study area has high concentration of dissolved oxygen 26–50 Good water quality (Figure 4). Seven groundwater samples had dissolved 51–75 Poor water quality 76–100 Very poor water quality oxygen levels slightly exceeding the recommended >100 Unsuitable for drinking purpose value of 5 mg/L for potable water (World Health Organization (WHO), 2011). Bicarbonate (HCO ) concentration of the groundwater samples in the observed in the northern part, principally in the east- study area is ranging from 83.26 to 197.13 mg/L. The ern part of the study area (Figure 2). Electrical con- majority of study area has high WHO standard except ductivity of the water samples tested in the area ranges the northern part of the study area, which has low between 134.17 and 14,422 μS/cm, but one sample had HCO concentration in groundwater samples electrical conductivity values largely exceeding the (Figure 5). The slight content of bicarbonate recommended value of 2700 μS/cm for potable water. (HCO ) in the Meknes aquifer is closely related to The majority of the study area has exceeding WHO the natural dissolution of soil and rock. The spatial Standard (EC>500 μS/cm) (Figure 3). In fact, high 2− variation map of SO concentration revealed high conductivity indicates high water mineralization value in the northern part of the study area (Figure 6). (Rodier et al., 1996). The spatial distribution map of Table 3. Mean values of the physico-chemical parameters. − − + 2- 3- 2+ 2+ − – EC O NO NO NH SO PO Ca Mg Cl HCO 2 3 2 4 4 4 3 Parameters pH µs/cm mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L Stations W1 7.06 14,422.00 2.72 16.01 0.023 0.900 193.80 0.234 226.67 63.00 4153.2 83.26 W2 7.31 1405.17 4.95 15.97 0.560 1.826 54.98 0.187 113.67 55.17 206.71 102.17 W3 7.26 760.50 8.33 20.25 0.027 0.166 64.33 0.329 255.67 200.33 61.62 163.39 W4 7.08 950.50 6.81 34.55 0.023 0.184 102.60 0.232 296.00 139.33 81.43 203.33 W5 6.99 134.17 7.54 14.48 0.018 0.098 71.54 0.093 377.17 188.25 148.50 197.13 W6 7.28 790.00 8.33 34.46 0.145 0.338 7.59 0.215 248.08 135.83 57.52 151.24 W7 7.26 642.00 4.57 35.43 0.132 0.034 8.42 0.091 214.33 84.33 43.95 139.39 W8 7.28 708.17 8.29 33.11 0.125 0.022 46.40 0.006 233.87 96.98 43.59 151.38 S1 7.00 544.50 5.34 2.08 0.073 0.310 37.38 0.003 219.17 135.83 22.18 190.50 S2 7.02 560.33 8.71 2.44 0.003 0.171 60.87 0.158 178.50 109.67 25.28 147.34 Figure 2. Spatial variation map of pH. GEOLOGY, ECOLOGY, AND LANDSCAPES 5 Figure 3. Spatial variation map of EC. Figure 4. Spatial variation map of O2. These high concentrations of sulfate in groundwater and the presence of diffuse pollution caused by uncon- can be explained by the evaporite minerals dissolution trolled application of fertilizers (Ben Abbou et al., (CaSO ) of the aquifer, the contact of the water with 2014). The spatial variation map of orthophosphate 3− the gypsum marl that forms the ground of the aquifer, proves a high level of PO concentration, 4 6 E. M. RADOUANE ET AL. Figure 5. Spatial variation map of HCO3. Figure 6. Spatial variation map of SO . particularly, in the northern and southern parts of the anthropogenic activities, such as application of fertili- study area (Figure 7). Phosphates are also important zer, and might also originate from agricultural area. water quality parameters that originate from The WHO standard acceptable for nitrate (NO ) in water is 50 mg/l; hence, all the water 3 GEOLOGY, ECOLOGY, AND LANDSCAPES 7 Figure 7. Spatial variation map of PO . samples in the studied area are within the accep- can result in anthropogenic activities that contri- table limit. The mapping of this element shows bute to the increase in nitrate content, and might a high concentration in the northern part of the originate from agricultural area. The nitrite con- study area (Figure 8). These high concentrations centrations in the groundwater of the study area Figure 8. Spatial variation map of NO 3. 8 E. M. RADOUANE ET AL. Figure 9. Spatial variation map of NO Figure 10. Spatial variation map of Cl. are generally less than 0.5 mg/L, except for a few 1.826 mg/L with a mean of 0.4049 mg/L. samples in the northern part of the study. The Interpolated spatial variation map of NH in the concentrations of NH ranged from 0.022 to study area shows that larger parts of the study 4 GEOLOGY, ECOLOGY, AND LANDSCAPES 9 Figure 11. Spatial variation map of NH . 2+ Figure 12. Spatial variation map of Ca . + – area have less than 0.1 mg/L NH concentration a significant concentration of Cl in the northern in groundwater. It is observed that the NH con- part of the study area where the concentrations centration in groundwater is high in the northern are higher than 250 mg/L. Cl enters into ground- part of the study area. The chloride map shows water from various sources, such as rainwater, 10 E. M. RADOUANE ET AL. 2+ Figure 13. Spatial variation map of Mg . Figure 14. Spatial variation map of water quality index (WQI). 2+ agricultural activities, and leaching from landfill both parameters. Ca concentration is higher 2+ waste. The comparison between the spatial varia- than Mg concentration in the study area. This 2+ 2+ tion map of calcium (Ca ) and that of magne- relative depletion of Mg in the waters of Meknes 2+ sium (Mg ) indicates a similar distribution of region may be due to the dissolution of GEOLOGY, ECOLOGY, AND LANDSCAPES 11 Table 4. Water quality classifications based on WQI value. of groundwater quality shows that groundwater with Sample WQI Classification poor quality is seen in the south of the investigation W1 187.18 Unsuitable for drinking purpose territory, while inadmissible quality water is recorded W2 33.42 Good water quality in the north. The results of the present study revealed W3 52.24 Poor water quality W4 43.57 Good water quality that the quality of groundwater of the study area was W5 39.87 Good water quality affected by the anthropogenic activities and hence W6 53.01 Poor water quality W7 30.75 Good water quality these results indicate that pollution affected the W8 36.79 Good water quality groundwater quality of this area. This study has S1 31.04 Good water quality found that the use of an integrated method of GIS S2 28.88 Good water quality and WQI is extremely useful in getting to ground- water quality and with a clear view of geographic area of groundwater quality; this finding has important magnesium-rich carbonated formations implications for regional decision-makers for enhan- (Dolomites) (Amraoui, 2005). cing management and protection of groundwater purpose. This mapping can support the development of highly needed groundwater management. This 3.2. Modeling of groundwater quality by using requires additional studies to be recommended to GIS and WQI assess the potential effects on human health from The various classes of water quality index for drinking drinking groundwater. purpose are shown in Table 2 and the computed value of WQI is shown in Table 4. Computed water quality index shows that the majority of samples fall into the Acknowledgments class of good water type for drinking purpose. Except The authors sincerely thank the reviewers and editors. for sample W1, samples (W3, W6) are categorized as unsuitable for drinking purpose and poor water, respectively. Meanwhile, the spatial variation map of Disclosure statement WQI revealed that the majority of samples have WQI No potential conflict of interest was reported by the less than 100 and suitable for drinking purpose author(s). (Figure 14). However, in view of the water quality record for drinking reason, 1% of the samples are ORCID unsuitable for drinking purpose class, 20% of the samples are poor water quality class, 70% of the sam- El Moustaine Radouane http://orcid.org/0000-0002- ples are in acceptable water quality classification 0835-7771 (Table 4). Usually, the WQI map additionally helps in under- References standing the spatial variation of the groundwater nat- ure of the study region. It tends to be seen from the Akkaraboyina, M. K., & Raju, B. S. N. (2012). 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Assessment and modeling of groundwater quality by using water quality index (WQI) and GIS technique in meknes aquifer (Morocco)

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GEOLOGY, ECOLOGY, AND LANDSCAPES INWASCON https://doi.org/10.1080/24749508.2021.1944797 RESEARCH ARTICLE Assessment and modeling of groundwater quality by using water quality index (WQI) and GIS technique in meknes aquifer (Morocco) a,b b b c El Moustaine Radouane , Abdelkader Chahlaoui , Abdelmonaim Maliki and Abderrazzaq Boudellah Doctor in Hydrobiology and Biodiversity, Full Professor at the Ministry of National Education, Doctorate Researcher Attached to the Environment and Health Laboratory, Natural Resources Management and Valorization Team at the Faculty of Sciences of Meknes, Morocco; Laboratory of Environment and Health, Natural Resources Management and Valorization Team, Faculty of Sciences, University Moulay Ismail, Zitoune Meknes, Morocco; Laboratory of Food, Environment and Health, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakech, Morocco ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY Received 9 March 2021 Assessment of groundwater quality is important for drinking water, especially for rural popula- Accepted 15 June 2021 tions. The aim of this study was to assess the groundwater quality for human consumption by integrating the water quality index with geographic information system (GIS) for the eventual KEYWORDS interpretation of Meknes area water quality. Eight wells and two springs were investigated Geographical information between February 2013 and February 2014. In light of the analysis results, spatial distribution systems (GIS); physico- 2+ 2+ 2− + − maps of chosen physico-chemical parameters such as pH, O , EC, Ca , Mg , SO , NH , NO chemical parameters; water 2 4 4 3 − 3− 2− – , NO , PO , SO and HCO were prepared using GIS. Water Quality Index (WQI) approach quality; water quality index 2 4 4 3 (wqi); meknes area is utilized with the groundwater parameters and spatial distribution maps have been devel- oped using GIS for the obtained indexes. The anthropogenic activities may be the likely cause of poor water quality. The north and north-west regions are influenced by anthropogenic inputs from the leaching of landfill and wastewater, whereas the south-west region is affected by agricultural runoff due to a quite high level of agricultural activity. The WQI values varied from 28.88 to 187.18. According to WQI classification, 30% of samples are unsuitable for drinking water purposes. These findings indicate the need for serious reflection on the part of the planners and decision-makers for efficient management of the groundwater resources. 1. Introduction analysis extension of GIS allows interpolation of the groundwater quality parameters at unknown locations Groundwater has become the most important source from known values to create a continuous surface of water used for domestic, industrial, and agricul- which helps us understand the distribution of water tural sectors of many countries. Indeed, groundwater quality parameters of the study area (Shabbir & is the major source of water supply and presently it Ahmad, 2015; Sumathi et al., 2008). Moreover, the is the most valuable natural resource for various water quality index (WQI) technique ranks the com- human activities (Prasad & Narayana, 2004). More bined effects of individual water quality parameters than one third of the world’s population relies upon with respect to the overall water quality groundwater for direct consumption and food pro- (Akkaraboyina & Raju, 2012). WQI is useful in obtain- duction (Morris et al., 2003). Furthermore, to pro- ing water quality information for targeted citizens and vide safe drinking water especially to rural decision makers (Ramakrishnaiah et al., 2009). populations, groundwater has been sought as the The index was first developed by Horton in 1965 to source in many developing and under-developed measure water quality by using 10 most regularly used countries (Gordana et al., 2014). Consequently, sev- water parameters. However, the WQI approach has eral countries are facing serious water scarcity and been applied in several countries, such as India (Gorai poor water quality. The quality of drinking water & Kumar, 2013; Magesh & Chandrasekar, 2013; has increasingly been questioned from a health point Tiwari & Ma, 1985), Zimbabwe (Muzenda et al., of view for many decades. 2019), Algeria (Boufekane & Saighi, 2018, 2019), Geographic information system (GIS) can be Nigeria (Ishaku, 2011), Egypt (El-Zeiny & Elbeih, a powerful tool for developing solutions for water 2019) to assessing the quality of groundwater . resources problems, assessing water quality, flooding, In Morocco, various groundwater-related studies understanding the natural environment, and for have been piloted to determine potential sites for managing water resources on a local and/or regional groundwater evaluation (Bouchaou et al., 2020; Heib scale (Ferry et al., 2003). Furthermore, the spatial CONTACT El moustaine Radouane r_elmoustaine@yahoo.com Doctor in Hydrobiology and Biodiversity, Full Professor at the Ministry of National Education, Doctorate Researcher Attached to the Environment and Health Laboratory, Natural Resources Management and Valorization Team at the Faculty of Sciences of Meknes, Morocco © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group on behalf of the International Water, Air & Soil Conservation Society(INWASCON). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. 2 E. M. RADOUANE ET AL. et al., 2017; Jamaa et al., 2020; Laraichi & Hammani, sediments. The bedrock of the basin is mainly formed 2018; Re et al., 2013) and groundwater quality modeling by dolomites and limestones of the lias, and locally by by using GIS and WQI index (El Mountassir et al., the Triassic clays or shales Primary (Amraoui, 2005). 2020; Nait Mensour et al., 2019). The WQI is charac- For this study, eight wells and two springs were selected terized as a grading (Chaurasia et al., 2018) mirroring and investigated, and have been studied monthly for the combined impact of various parameters present in 1 year, from February 2013 to January 2014. Most of the the groundwater quality (Jamshidzadeh & Barzi, 2018). 10 studied stations are used for agricultural, domestic The WQI is computed from the perspective of the purposes and drinking water. Groundwater samples appropriateness of groundwater for individual utiliza- were collected from a variety of aquifers in Meknes tion. However, no previous study has been investigated region (Figure 1). Most of the 10 studied stations are in Meknes region. The present study aimed to assess used for agricultural, domestic purposes and drinking and model the groundwater quality for drinking pur- water. Three wells were selected at the northern part poses of the Meknes aquifer by using the Geographic (well P1 and well P2); these wells are located near the Information System (GIS) and Water Quality Index landfill; three at the eastern part (well P6, well P7, and (WQI). Hence, the goal of the current study is to assess well P8) are located near the wastewater discharges; and the impact of the anthropogenic activities in the three at the southern part (well P3, well P4, and well P4) Meknes region on groundwater quality using the WQI. are located at high level of agricultural activity. Two springs were selected at the southern part (springs S1 and springs S2). 2. Material and methods 2.1. Study area 2.2. Groundwater data and GIS analyses The study area (Figure 1) is located in the northern Temperature (T°), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and central region of Morocco, and it is located mainly in dissolved oxygen (O2) were measured in field with the Saïss basin. It is located between the cities of a portable multi-parameter probe (Consort 933, Meknes and Fes in Morocco, situated at 33° 53ʹ WTW). Samples for chemical analysis were collected north, – 5° 30ʹ west, and 34° 04ʹ north, – 4° 57ʹ west, 2+ in washed polyethylene bottles. Calcium (Ca ), mag- at an elevation of approximately 400 m. The water 2+ − 2− nesium (Mg ), chloride (Cl ), sulphates (SO ), supply for human activities in the Saïss plain comes 4 ammonical nitrogen (NH –N), nitrate (NO ), Nitrite from a shallow aquifer located in the plio-pleistocene 4 3 Figure 1. Study area. GEOLOGY, ECOLOGY, AND LANDSCAPES 3 − 3− (NO ), orthophosphate (PO ), and hydrogencarbo- depending on their importance in the overall quality 2 4 nate (HCO ) were measured by the methods proposed of water for drinking purposes (Rokbani et al., 2011). by (Rodier et al., 2009). All the chemical constituents In the second step, the relative weight (Wi) of each are expressed in mg/l (milligrams/liter) except pH. parameter is computed using Eq. (1): The spatial distribution of groundwater quality wi 2+ 2+ 2− Wi ¼ P (1) parameters such as pH, O , EC, Ca , Mg , SO , 2 4 n wi + − − 3− 2− – NH , NO , NO , PO , SO and HCO con- 4 3 2 4 4 3 centrations were carried out through GIS techniques. where wi is the weight of each parameter, n is the The resulting spatial variation maps were showed in number of parameters, and Wi is the relative weight. Figures 2–13. However, an interpolation technique of The weight (wi), the calculated relative weight (Wi) inverse distance weighting (IDW) has been applied to values, and the WHO standards for each parameter elaborate the variation map of the water quality index are given in Table 1. (WQI) (Figure 14) . In the third step, the quality rating scale (qi) for any parameter was determined using Eq. (2). Ci qi ¼ � 100 (2) 2.4. Calculation of Water Quality Index (WQI) Si Water quality index (WQI) is an essential parameter where qi is the quality rating, Ci is the concentration of for evaluating groundwater quality and its suitability each physicochemical parameter in each water sample, for drinking purposes (Saeedi & Sharifi, 2010). WQI is and Si is the drinking water standard for each physico- a mathematical equation used to summarize a large chemical parameter according to the guidelines of the number of water quality data into a single number and WHO, 2011. understandable format (Štambuk-Giljanović, 1999). In Then, for deriving the WQI value, the water quality this study, WQI can be calculated to evaluate ground- sub-index (SIi) for each parameter is computed using water quality using the 13 measured parameters in Eq. (3). each sampled site. For computing WQI, four steps SIi ¼ Wiqi (3) are followed: In the first step, each of the 10 parameters (pH, Finally, water quality sub-index is used to calculate the 2+ 2+ − 2- − – EC,O , Ca , Mg , Cl , SO , HCO , NO and 2 4 3 3 WQI using Eq. (4). NO ) has been assigned a weight (wi) according to its relative substance in the overall quality of ground- WQI ¼ SIi (4) water for drinking purposes (Table 1). Prejudiced values were assigned according to relative significance The approach used in this study is similar to that used of groundwater parameter in drinking water quality (El by other researchers (Sathees et al., 2020; El-Zeiny & Mountassir et al., 2020; Ramakrishnaiah et al., 2009). Elbeih, 2019; Francis et al., 2020; Gebrehiwot et al., The maximum weight of 5 has been assigned to para- 2011; Gorai & Kumar, 2013; Jha et al., 2015; El meters like total dissolved oxygen, sulfate, and nitrate Mountassir et al., 2020; Muzenda et al., 2019; due to their major importance in water quality assess- Pradhan et al., 2001; Rabeiy, 2017; Ramachandran ment (Srinivasamoorthy et al., 2008). Nitrite is given et al., 2020; Saeedi & Sharifi, 2010; Talebiniya et al., a minimum weight of 1 as it plays an insignificant role 2019; Re et al., 2013) in the water quality assessment. Other parameters, such The computed WQI values are classified into five as pH, EC, calcium, magnesium, chloride, and bicarbo- types, “excellent water” to “water, unsuitable for nate, were assigned a weight between 1 and 5 drinking” shown in Table 2. Table 1. Weight and relative weight of each parameter used 3. Results and discussion for the WQI calculation. 3.1. Assessment of groundwater quality Relative Physicochemical World Health Organization Weight weight parameters (WHO) (2011) (wi) (Wi) The variation of the physicochemical data of the sta- pH 6.5–8.5 4 0.118 tions studied is shown in Table 3. Also, Table 1 shows EC (µs/cm) 500 4 0.118 some descriptive statistics for the 12 physico-chemical O (mg/L) 5 5 0.147 Cl (mg/L) 250 3 0.088 parameters monitored in 10 sampling stations for HCO (mg/L) 120 3 0.088 2 – a 12-month period, totaling 1440 (10 × 12 × 12) data SO (mg/L) 250 5 0.147 NO (mg/L) 50 5 0.147 points. NO – (mg/L) 3 1 0.029 The pH values ranged from 6.99 to 7.31. The spatial 2+ Mg (mg/L) 50 2 0.058 2+ Ca (mg/L) 75 2 0.058 distribution map of pH shows that the groundwater of 34 0.998 study area is slightly neutral. The highest pH is 4 E. M. RADOUANE ET AL. Table 2. WQI value and rating water quality. O2 shows that the northern part of study area has low WQI value Rating of Water Quality concentration of O , whereas southern part of the 0–25 Excellent water quality study area has high concentration of dissolved oxygen 26–50 Good water quality (Figure 4). Seven groundwater samples had dissolved 51–75 Poor water quality 76–100 Very poor water quality oxygen levels slightly exceeding the recommended >100 Unsuitable for drinking purpose value of 5 mg/L for potable water (World Health Organization (WHO), 2011). Bicarbonate (HCO ) concentration of the groundwater samples in the observed in the northern part, principally in the east- study area is ranging from 83.26 to 197.13 mg/L. The ern part of the study area (Figure 2). Electrical con- majority of study area has high WHO standard except ductivity of the water samples tested in the area ranges the northern part of the study area, which has low between 134.17 and 14,422 μS/cm, but one sample had HCO concentration in groundwater samples electrical conductivity values largely exceeding the (Figure 5). The slight content of bicarbonate recommended value of 2700 μS/cm for potable water. (HCO ) in the Meknes aquifer is closely related to The majority of the study area has exceeding WHO the natural dissolution of soil and rock. The spatial Standard (EC>500 μS/cm) (Figure 3). In fact, high 2− variation map of SO concentration revealed high conductivity indicates high water mineralization value in the northern part of the study area (Figure 6). (Rodier et al., 1996). The spatial distribution map of Table 3. Mean values of the physico-chemical parameters. − − + 2- 3- 2+ 2+ − – EC O NO NO NH SO PO Ca Mg Cl HCO 2 3 2 4 4 4 3 Parameters pH µs/cm mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L Stations W1 7.06 14,422.00 2.72 16.01 0.023 0.900 193.80 0.234 226.67 63.00 4153.2 83.26 W2 7.31 1405.17 4.95 15.97 0.560 1.826 54.98 0.187 113.67 55.17 206.71 102.17 W3 7.26 760.50 8.33 20.25 0.027 0.166 64.33 0.329 255.67 200.33 61.62 163.39 W4 7.08 950.50 6.81 34.55 0.023 0.184 102.60 0.232 296.00 139.33 81.43 203.33 W5 6.99 134.17 7.54 14.48 0.018 0.098 71.54 0.093 377.17 188.25 148.50 197.13 W6 7.28 790.00 8.33 34.46 0.145 0.338 7.59 0.215 248.08 135.83 57.52 151.24 W7 7.26 642.00 4.57 35.43 0.132 0.034 8.42 0.091 214.33 84.33 43.95 139.39 W8 7.28 708.17 8.29 33.11 0.125 0.022 46.40 0.006 233.87 96.98 43.59 151.38 S1 7.00 544.50 5.34 2.08 0.073 0.310 37.38 0.003 219.17 135.83 22.18 190.50 S2 7.02 560.33 8.71 2.44 0.003 0.171 60.87 0.158 178.50 109.67 25.28 147.34 Figure 2. Spatial variation map of pH. GEOLOGY, ECOLOGY, AND LANDSCAPES 5 Figure 3. Spatial variation map of EC. Figure 4. Spatial variation map of O2. These high concentrations of sulfate in groundwater and the presence of diffuse pollution caused by uncon- can be explained by the evaporite minerals dissolution trolled application of fertilizers (Ben Abbou et al., (CaSO ) of the aquifer, the contact of the water with 2014). The spatial variation map of orthophosphate 3− the gypsum marl that forms the ground of the aquifer, proves a high level of PO concentration, 4 6 E. M. RADOUANE ET AL. Figure 5. Spatial variation map of HCO3. Figure 6. Spatial variation map of SO . particularly, in the northern and southern parts of the anthropogenic activities, such as application of fertili- study area (Figure 7). Phosphates are also important zer, and might also originate from agricultural area. water quality parameters that originate from The WHO standard acceptable for nitrate (NO ) in water is 50 mg/l; hence, all the water 3 GEOLOGY, ECOLOGY, AND LANDSCAPES 7 Figure 7. Spatial variation map of PO . samples in the studied area are within the accep- can result in anthropogenic activities that contri- table limit. The mapping of this element shows bute to the increase in nitrate content, and might a high concentration in the northern part of the originate from agricultural area. The nitrite con- study area (Figure 8). These high concentrations centrations in the groundwater of the study area Figure 8. Spatial variation map of NO 3. 8 E. M. RADOUANE ET AL. Figure 9. Spatial variation map of NO Figure 10. Spatial variation map of Cl. are generally less than 0.5 mg/L, except for a few 1.826 mg/L with a mean of 0.4049 mg/L. samples in the northern part of the study. The Interpolated spatial variation map of NH in the concentrations of NH ranged from 0.022 to study area shows that larger parts of the study 4 GEOLOGY, ECOLOGY, AND LANDSCAPES 9 Figure 11. Spatial variation map of NH . 2+ Figure 12. Spatial variation map of Ca . + – area have less than 0.1 mg/L NH concentration a significant concentration of Cl in the northern in groundwater. It is observed that the NH con- part of the study area where the concentrations centration in groundwater is high in the northern are higher than 250 mg/L. Cl enters into ground- part of the study area. The chloride map shows water from various sources, such as rainwater, 10 E. M. RADOUANE ET AL. 2+ Figure 13. Spatial variation map of Mg . Figure 14. Spatial variation map of water quality index (WQI). 2+ agricultural activities, and leaching from landfill both parameters. Ca concentration is higher 2+ waste. The comparison between the spatial varia- than Mg concentration in the study area. This 2+ 2+ tion map of calcium (Ca ) and that of magne- relative depletion of Mg in the waters of Meknes 2+ sium (Mg ) indicates a similar distribution of region may be due to the dissolution of GEOLOGY, ECOLOGY, AND LANDSCAPES 11 Table 4. Water quality classifications based on WQI value. of groundwater quality shows that groundwater with Sample WQI Classification poor quality is seen in the south of the investigation W1 187.18 Unsuitable for drinking purpose territory, while inadmissible quality water is recorded W2 33.42 Good water quality in the north. The results of the present study revealed W3 52.24 Poor water quality W4 43.57 Good water quality that the quality of groundwater of the study area was W5 39.87 Good water quality affected by the anthropogenic activities and hence W6 53.01 Poor water quality W7 30.75 Good water quality these results indicate that pollution affected the W8 36.79 Good water quality groundwater quality of this area. This study has S1 31.04 Good water quality found that the use of an integrated method of GIS S2 28.88 Good water quality and WQI is extremely useful in getting to ground- water quality and with a clear view of geographic area of groundwater quality; this finding has important magnesium-rich carbonated formations implications for regional decision-makers for enhan- (Dolomites) (Amraoui, 2005). cing management and protection of groundwater purpose. This mapping can support the development of highly needed groundwater management. This 3.2. Modeling of groundwater quality by using requires additional studies to be recommended to GIS and WQI assess the potential effects on human health from The various classes of water quality index for drinking drinking groundwater. purpose are shown in Table 2 and the computed value of WQI is shown in Table 4. Computed water quality index shows that the majority of samples fall into the Acknowledgments class of good water type for drinking purpose. Except The authors sincerely thank the reviewers and editors. for sample W1, samples (W3, W6) are categorized as unsuitable for drinking purpose and poor water, respectively. Meanwhile, the spatial variation map of Disclosure statement WQI revealed that the majority of samples have WQI No potential conflict of interest was reported by the less than 100 and suitable for drinking purpose author(s). (Figure 14). However, in view of the water quality record for drinking reason, 1% of the samples are ORCID unsuitable for drinking purpose class, 20% of the samples are poor water quality class, 70% of the sam- El Moustaine Radouane http://orcid.org/0000-0002- ples are in acceptable water quality classification 0835-7771 (Table 4). Usually, the WQI map additionally helps in under- References standing the spatial variation of the groundwater nat- ure of the study region. It tends to be seen from the Akkaraboyina, M. K., & Raju, B. S. N. (2012). 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Journal

Geology Ecology and Landscapes – Taylor & Francis

Published: Apr 3, 2023

Keywords: Geographical information systems (GIS); physico-chemical parameters; water quality; water quality index (wqi); meknes area

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