Geochemistry of the Groundwater of the Temara Aquifer (North-West Morocco)

Abstract

Water is a major strategic issue and a key factor in sustainable development for all countries around the world. In Morocco, groundwater has a major importance in the national economic policy. For this reason, sustainable water resources management programs are periodically installed to prevent their qualitative and quantitative degradation, which conditions future development and is part of the research strategy to optimize and mitigate environmental problems. The Temara water table, which extends over nearly 350 km 2 is part of these water resources that must be preserved. This issue is of increasing concern to researchers and decision makers in the field of water resources management. The hydrochemical study carried out on 48 samples taken in the study area during a sampling campaign carried out during the low water period showed that the water table has facies of chloride and sulphate calcic and magnesian type according to the Piper diagram. While the classification diagrams of Wilcox and Richards waters revealed the suitability of these waters for irrigation except for some points that present high contents of Nitrate (NO 3 -), Magnesium (Mg 2+ ), Sulphate (SO 4 2-) and Chloride (Cl -), linked to both the lithological nature of the enclosing formations and the effect of the agricultural activity which induces the phenomenon of return of irrigation water loaded with salts from the fertilizers used, towards the water table.