The Impact of Agricultural Development on Karstic Groundwater of the Saïda Mountains, Algeria

Abstract

Water quality is a public health issue and this article includes related causes, issues and descriptions for the monitoring of groundwater quality in Algeria. Good water management depends on many qualitative issues, their origin (agriculture), the monitoring of quality and prediction of those parameters during a longer period. The establishment of this work aims at identifying the chemical facies, the origins and the drinking of karstic groundwater of the Saïda Mountains. These mountains are composed of carbonate massifs (limestone-dolomite rocks) of Lower to Middle Jurassic age. They are fed by precipitation and by a relatively dense temporary hydrographic system. The mountains represent an important water reservoir for northwestern Algeria. Anthropogenic impacts have continuously modified the physico-chemical characteristics of the water in this aquifer [NO 3-(62 mg/l), SO 4 2-(173 mg /l), Cl-(123 mg/l)]. This represents critical values that pose risks to the population. An interpretation of graphs of anthropogenic water parameters shows that the primary source of pollution is agricultural activity, which has increased significantly in the study area. However, our investigations and interviews with water resource managers showed that great difficulties persist in the implementation of recommended protective actions.

Forecasting Underground Water Dynamics within the Technogenic Environment of a Mine Field. Case Study

“…Large-scale transformations of rock mass factor lead to changes in the state and characteristics of both the subsurface [3][4][5] and the whole environment [6,7]. Underground water is the basic dynamic subsurface component helping to perform energy, mass, and heat transfer [8,9] as well as to transfer common groundwater contaminants [10][11][12][13]. Water can vary the properties of the geosystem and environment [14], and activate exogenic processes and even endogenic ones [15,16].…”

Hydrochemical Indicators Analysis of Seawater Intrusion in Coastal Karstic Aquifers on the Example of the Bokanjac-Poličnik Catchment Area in Zadar, Croatia

“…As groundwater moves through rocks, its chemical composition normally changes, and the longer groundwater remains in contact with aquifer rocks the greater the amount of material it will take into the solution [3]. There are many obstacles in water supply systems that use groundwater in coastal aquifers, and seawater intrusion is a major one [4][5][6][7], referring to varying degrees of mixing saltwater with groundwater. Seawater intrusion is higher in summer months when water consumption rises due to the duration of the tourist season, and at the same time recharge of the aquifer is decreased during the dry summer season [4].…”