Assessment of Groundwater Quality for Irrigation Purposes in Sidi Slimane, Morocco Using the Irrigation Water Quality Index

Imane Bedoui¹, Sarra EL-Haji¹, Ghizlane Houzi², Nadia Aghrib¹, Dounia Challi¹, Samiha Kaioua¹, Hefdhallah Alaizari^3*, Mohamed Fadli¹

¹Laboratory of Plant, Animal and Agro-Industry Productions, Faculty of Sciences, Kenitra Ibn Tofail University, Kenitra, Morocco

²Laboratory of Biology and Health, Faculty of Sciences, Kenitra Ibn Tofail University, Kenitra, Morocco

³Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Education, University of Dhamar, Yemen

Corresponding Author: [email protected]; Tel: 00212604943459

Recieved Date: 03 February 2022; Accepted Date: 4 April 2022; Published Date: 03 May

Citation: Bedoui I, EL-Haji S, Houzi G, Aghrib N, Challi D, Kaioua S, Alaizari H, Fadli M. Assessment of Groundwater Quality for Irrigation Purposes in Sidi Slimane, Morocco Using the Irrigation Water Quality Index. Trop J Nat Prod Res. 2022; 6(4): 514-519 http://www.doi.org/10.26538/tjnpr/v6i4.21

Copyright:

 © 2022 Bedoui et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

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ABSTRACT

Groundwater pollution is a major problem in most countries, including Morocco. This study was aimed at evaluating the suitability of groundwater for irrigation in Sidi Slimane, Morocco, using the irrigation water quality index (IWQI). Water samples were collected from 20 wells in 2018. Electrical conductivity (EC), sodium adsorption rate (SAR), sodium ions (Na⁺), chloride ions (Cl-), and bicarbonate ions (HCO₃-) were measured, and the parameter values were used to compute and plot the irrigation water quality index (IWQI). The results showed that the average values for EC and SAR of the groundwater samples were 4915±3772 ?S/cm and 11.22 ±5.36, respectively. Water toxicity was calculated in terms of sodium ion concentration (Na⁺), yielding a mean value of 32.09±22.03 meq/L. Furthermore, the average chloride and bicarbonate ion concentrations in the study area were 31.31±22.86 meq/L and 7.568±2.599 meq/L, respectively. The IWQI map revealed that more than 65% of the water samples were in the excellent category, which is dominant in the large areas in the west; 35% of the water samples were in the good category in the center of the study area, and 5% of the water samples were in the poor category in the east of the study area. The findings of this study should be taken into account for the management of groundwater for irrigation in the Sidi Slimane region of Morocco.