Evaluation of the water quality of wells used in vegetable farming (Aquifer of the coastal Chaouia, Morocco).

In this work, we study the evaluation of wells water quality used for vegetable farming in reference to irrigation standards in coastal Chaouia region (Morocco), which is characterized by intense agricultural activity and low depth of groundwater. So, thirty wells were sampled and different parameters were analyzed on the physical level such as pH, electrical conductivity (EC), temperature (T), dissolved oxygen O2. Whereas, the chemical ones such as bicarbonates (HCO3-), chlorides (Cl-), calcium (Ca2+), magnesium (Mg2+), sodium (Na+), total hardness (TH), nitrate (NO3-), sulfate (SO42-) and potassium (K +). The mean values are compared with the standards for the quality of irrigation water and treated statistically. The results obtained show that the well water is slightly acidic to alkaline trend. They are highly mineralized and very hard with slightly elevated levels of nitrates. The concentrations are classified as follows: [Na+] > [Mg2+] > [Ca2+] > [K+] and [Cl-] > [HCO3-] > [SO42−] > [NO-3]. A strong correlation is announced between the following chlorine and parameters: Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, TH and HCO3-. The typology is mainly controlled by the electrical conductivity, which permits the classification of the wells according to their physico-chemical quality.