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Journal of Arid Land
Journal of Arid Land  2024, Vol. 16 Issue (2): 147-167    DOI: 10.1007/s40333-024-0004-4
Research article     
Exploring groundwater quality in semi-arid areas of Algeria: Impacts on potable water supply and agricultural sustainability
Noua ALLAOUA1,2, Hinda HAFID1,2, Haroun CHENCHOUNI1,3,*()
1Laboratory of Natural Resources and Management of Sensitive Environments, Larbi Ben M'hidi University, Oum-El-Bouaghi 04000, Algeria
2Department of Nature and Life Sciences, Faculty of Exact Sciences and Nature and Life Sciences, Larbi Ben M'hidi University, Oum-El-Bouaghi 04000, Algeria
3Laboratory of Algerian Forests and Climate Change, Higher National School of Forests, Khenchela 40000, Algeria
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Abstract  

Groundwater quality assessment is important to assure safe and durable water use. In semi-arid areas of Algeria, groundwater represents the main water resource for drinking water supply of the rural population as well as for irrigation of agricultural lands. Groundwater samples from wells and springs were collected from the Gargaat Tarf and Annk Djemel sub-watersheds of the Oum El Bouaghi, Algeria, and were analyzed and compared with the World Health Organization (WHO) standards. Results showed that most of the measured physical and chemical parameters exceeded the quality limits according to the WHO standards. Groundwater had a slightly alkaline water pH (7.00-7.79), electrical conductivity>1500 µS/cm, chloride>500 mg/L, calcium>250 mg/L, and magnesium>155 mg/L. Water quality index (WQI) results showed that 68% of the area had excellent water quality, 24% of the samples fell into good category, and only 8% were of poor quality and unsuitable for human consumption. Six wells in the area showed bacterial contamination. Total coliforms (453.9 (±180.3) CFU (colony-forming units)/100 mL), fecal coliforms (243.2 (±99.2) CFU/100 mL), and fecal streptococci (77.9 (±32.0) CFU/100 mL) loads were above the standard limits set by the WHO. These results confirmed that water resources in the study area were strongly influenced by anthropogenic activities and were not recommended for consumption as drinking water.

Key words： bacteriological indicator      groundwater      watershed      physical-chemical parameter      water quality index     
Received: 20 October 2023      Published: 29 February 2024
Corresponding Authors: *Haroun CHENCHOUNI (E-mail: chenchouni@gmail.com)
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Noua ALLAOUA, Hinda HAFID, Haroun CHENCHOUNI. Exploring groundwater quality in semi-arid areas of Algeria: Impacts on potable water supply and agricultural sustainability. Journal of Arid Land, 2024, 16(2): 147-167.

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http://jal.xjegi.com/10.1007/s40333-024-0004-4     OR     http://jal.xjegi.com/Y2024/V16/I2/147

Fig. 1 Location and sampling sites in the Annk Djemel and Gargaat Tarf sub-watersheds, Algeria
Site Type Latitude Longitude Diameter (m) Depth (m) Piezometric level (m) Protection Utilization
Annk Djemel
P1 Well 35°55′38″N 06°52′45″E 3.5 4.6 3.4 Unprotected Chicken coop watering
P2 Well 35°55′48″N 06°50′48″E 3.9 3.3 1.5 Unprotected Cattle watering
P3 Well 35°55′37″N 06°52′54″E 2.2 6.7 6.1 Protected Cattle watering
P4 Well 35°55′40″N 06°52′47″E 3.9 6.2 4.5 Unprotected Chicken coop watering
P5 Well 35°58′58″N 06°48′50″E 0.8 2.1 - Protected Cattle watering
P6 Well 35°58′29″N 06°46′26″E 2.5 6.4 3.4 Protected Cattle watering
P7 Well 35°50′02″N 06°42′24″E 4.0 7.0 5.0 Protected Irrigation
P8 Well 35°50′02″N 06°42′25″E 4.0 9.0 2.0 Unprotected Irrigation
P9 Well 35°49′33″N 06°39′40″E 4.0 21.3 7.0 Unprotected Irrigation
P10 Well 35°49′37″N 06°39′43″E 3.0 28.0 3.0 Protected Domestic use
S1 Spring 35°58′58″N 06°48′50″E - - - - Human consumption
S2 Spring 35°50′23″N 06°42′11″E - - - - Human consumption
S3 Spring 35°48′52″N 06°38′06″E - - - - Human consumption
Gargaat Tarf
P11 Well 35°38′47″N 07°16′37″E 2.4 4.5 3.0 Unprotected No longer used (abandoned)
P12 Well 35°45′47″N 07°14′49″E 2.2 17.5 15.0 Protected Irrigation and livestock watering
P13 Well 35°45′42″N 07°14′07″E 2.4 18.5 16.5 Protected Human drinking and irrigation
P14 Well 35°45′01″N 07°13′08″E 1.8 18.0 16.0 Protected Domestic use and irrigation
P15 Well 35°47′42″N 07°13′26″E 1.2 5.0 4.0 Unprotected No longer used (abandoned)
P16 Well 35°48′52″N 07°12′53″E 1.4 3.2 2.8 Unprotected No longer used (abandoned)
P17 Well 35°49′28″N 07°12′08″E 2.0 14.0 12.0 Protected Domestic use and irrigation
P18 Well 35°49′40″N 07°12′44″E 2.5 16.0 13.0 Unprotected Irrigation
P19 Well 35°51′50″N 07°12′53″E 1.3 4.5 0.8 Protected No longer used (abandoned)
P20 Well 35°45′39″N 07°01′10″E 2.0 10.0 8.0 Unprotected Irrigation
P21 Well 35°45′46″N 07°00′19″E 0.4 2.5 2.0 Unprotected No longer used (abandoned)
P22 Well 35°43′47″N 07°02′09″E 1.5 3.0 0.5 Unprotected No longer used (abandoned)
Table 1 Morphological characteristics of the sample sites in the Annk Djemel and Gargaat Tarf sub-watersheds, Algeria
Physical-chemical parameter Algerian standard (sn) 1/sn Relative weight (dimensionless)
T (°C) 25 0.0400 0.00098
pH 9 0.1111 0.00271
EC (µS/cm) 2800 0.0004 0.00001
DO (mg/L) 5 0.2000 0.00488
NO3- (mg/L) 50 0.0200 0.00049
NO2- (mg/L) 0.1 10.0000 0.24390
NH4+ (mg/L) 0.5 2.0000 0.04878
PO43- (mg/L) 5 0.2000 0.00488
Ca2+ (mg/L) 200 0.0050 0.00012
Mg2+ (mg/L) 150 0.0067 0.00016
Cl- (mg/L) 500 0.0020 0.00005
SO42- (mg/L) 400 0.0025 0.00006
Table 2 Weights of physical-chemical parameters and Algerian standard of surface water quality (OJRA, 2006)
Parameter Annk Djemel Gargaat Tarf Overall Welch t-test Standard
Mean Min-Max Mean Min-Max Mean Min-Max t-value df P-value OJRA WHO
T (°C) 16.8±0.3 15.0-18.5 16.9±0.26 15.6-18.7 16.9±0.2 15.0-18.7 -0.19 22.56 0.850 25 25
EC (µS/cm) 2239±326 254-4160 3153±608 621-7160 2678±343 254-7160 -1.33 16.95 0.203 2800 1000
pH 7.34±0.08 7.00-7.80 7.38±0.12 6.68-8.04 7.36±0.07 6.68-8.04 -0.28 19.25 0.780 6.5-9.0 6.5-9.0
DO (mg/L) 6.76±0.45 4.18-9.53 6.79±0.32 3.99-8.47 6.77±0.27 3.99-9.53 -0.06 21.24 0.955 >70 -
CaCO3 (%) 531±61 200-1060 508±56 160-910 520±41 160-1060 0.27 22.98 0.789 - 200
Ca2+ (mg/L) 383±47 109-835 446±87 127-1239 413±48 109-1239 -0.64 17.06 0.529 200 200
Mg2+ (mg/L) 147±19 59-315 163±32 32-481 155±18 32-481 -0.40 17.91 0.691 150 150
HCO3- (mg/L) 217±52 55-669 478±59 210-833 342±46 55-833 -3.31 22.37 0.003 - -
Cl- (mg/L) 591±101 121-1291 725±188 64-2482 655±103 64-2482 -0.63 17.00 0.539 500 200
SO42- (mg/L) 252±30 80-472 452±76 74-756 348±44 74-756 -2.44 14.46 0.028 400 400
NH4+ (mg/L) 0.18±0.06 0.02-0.70 0.25±0.12 0.01-1.40 0.22±0.07 0.01-1.40 -0.49 16.12 0.632 0.5 0.2
NO2- (mg/L) 0.08±0.03 0.01-0.39 0.25±0.06 0.01-0.57 0.16±0.04 0.01-0.57 -2.30 16.89 0.035 0.2 0.2
NO3- (mg/L) 10.49±5.13 0.01-68.22 4.81±1.12 0.12-11.14 7.76±2.73 0.01-68.22 1.09 13.13 0.298 50 50
PO43- (mg/L) 0.15±0.02 0.00-0.25 0.11±0.03 0.00-0.29 0.13±0.02 0.00-0.29 1.07 20.33 0.296 5 5
Table 3 Physical-chemical characteristics of groundwater in the Gargaat Tarf and Annk Djemel sub-watersheds, Algeria
Fig. 2 Correlation between water physical-chemical parameters from wells and groundwater in the Annk Djemel (a) and Gargaat Tarf (b) sub-watersheds, Algeria. ***, P<0.001 level; **, P<0.010 level; *, P<0.050 level. T, temperature; EC, electrical conductivity; DO, dissolved oxygen.
Fig. 3 Chord diagram displaying the distribution of densities (CFU/100 mL) of main bacterial groups. TC, total coliforms; FC, fecal coliforms; FS, fecal streptococci. P1-P3 and P7-P9 are sampling sites where bacterial groups are positively detected.
Fig. 4 Correlative scatter plot among bacterial groups detected at groundwater in semi-arid areas of Algeria. Red lines represent linear regressions with the equations given at top of plots above the diagonal. Blue ellipses represent 50% and 95% concentration levels of observations with the center in solid red circle. (a1 and a2), correlations between FS (fecal streptococci) and FC (fecal coliforms), and between TC (total coliforms) and FS; (b1 and b2), correlations between FC and FS, and between TC and FS; (c1 and c2), correlations between FC and TC, and between FS and TC.
Fig. 5 Tri-plot of the RDA (redundancy analysis) examining relationships concentrations of water physical-chemical parameters and loads of bacterial groups in groundwater in semi-arid areas of Algeria. EC, electrical conductivity; DO, dissolved oxygen.
Groundwater parameter RDA axis 1 RDA axis 2 RDA axis 3
r P-value r P-value r P-value
T -0.38 0.199 0.40 0.175 0.30 0.313
pH 0.12 0.691 -0.21 0.489 0.33 0.276
EC -0.31 0.295 -0.16 0.593 -0.29 0.344
DO 0.34 0.262 -0.37 0.210 -0.10 0.745
CaCO3 -0.22 0.473 -0.15 0.636 -0.52 0.066
Ca2+ -0.18 0.566 -0.08 0.798 -0.66 0.014*
Mg2+ -0.26 0.392 -0.27 0.379 -0.02 0.954
HCO3- 0.30 0.322 -0.04 0.895 -0.11 0.730
Cl- -0.48 0.094 -0.30 0.320 -0.48 0.097
SO42- -0.26 0.392 0.11 0.721 0.35 0.237
NH4+ -0.24 0.428 0.06 0.858 0.15 0.627
NO2- 0.30 0.315 0.01 0.979 -0.02 0.952
NO3- -0.57 0.043* 0.60 0.031* -0.17 0.577
PO43- 0.04 0.898 -0.34 0.262 0.14 0.637
Table 4 Correlations of groundwater physical-chemical parameters within the first three axes of RDA (redundancy analysis)
Fig. 6 Classes of water quality index of groundwater in the Annk Djemel and Gargaat Tarf sub-watersheds, Algeria
Fig. 7 GLM (generalized linear model) plot showing the effect of WQI (water quality index) on the variation of water bacterial groups for groundwater at the Annk Djemel sub-watershed, Algeria. FC, fecal coliforms; FS, fecal streptococci; TC, total coliforms. Solid lines represent linear regressions obtained by a GLM fit with 95% confidence level in light grey.
Parameter TC FC FS
Estimate SE t-value P-value Estimate SE t-value P-value Estimate SE t-value P-value
Intercept -18,766.6 5990.3 -3.13 0.197 -14,368.4 6464.3 -2.22 0.269 -2976.8 2341.7 -1.27 0.424
T 468.38 208.00 2.25 0.266 361.86 224.45 1.61 0.353 65.71 81.31 0.81 0.567
pH 440.30 238.26 1.85 0.316 345.57 257.11 1.34 0.407 39.31 93.14 0.42 0.746
EC -0.12 0.11 -1.08 0.476 -0.07 0.12 -0.59 0.659 -0.01 0.04 -0.12 0.921
DO 1188.13 285.43 4.16 0.150 919.99 308.02 2.99 0.206 241.66 111.58 2.17 0.275
Ca2+ 0.28 0.95 0.30 0.817 -0.02 1.03 -0.02 0.987 0.02 0.37 0.06 0.961
Mg2+ 2.39 1.54 1.55 0.365 0.14 1.66 0.08 0.948 0.11 0.60 0.18 0.888
HCO3- -6.24 1.48 -4.23 0.148 -4.49 1.59 -2.81 0.217 -1.22 0.58 -2.11 0.282
Cl- 0.32 0.35 0.94 0.520 0.48 0.37 1.28 0.423 0.17 0.14 1.24 0.432
SO42- 0.03 0.67 0.04 0.976 -0.21 0.73 -0.29 0.821 -0.03 0.26 -0.11 0.932
NH4+ 2568.80 894.94 2.87 0.213 1986.43 965.75 2.06 0.288 544.50 349.85 1.56 0.364
NO3- 52.41 6.12 8.56 0.074 26.85 6.61 4.06 0.154 8.11 2.39 3.39 0.183
AIC 158.72 AIC 160.70 AIC 134.30
Table 5 GLM (generalized linear model) testing the effects of water physical-chemical parameters on the variation of bacterial groups
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