Assessment of Groundwater Quality for Irrigation in the Sidi Allal Region Using Irrigation Water Quality Index

Abstract

Water pollution has become a global concern, particularly due to the escalating demand for water. This study focuses on evaluating groundwater quality for irrigation purposes in the Sidi Allal Tazi region, Morocco, utilizing the irrigation water quality index. Indices like total disolved solids, sodium percentage, Kelly’s ratio, and sodium adsorption ratio suggested that 22–66% of the samples were unsuitable for irrigation, whereas primality index, magnesium ratio, and residual sodium carbonate indices classified 91–100% of the wells as appropriate for irrigation in the Sidi Allal region. The values of irrigation water quality index, about, 29% of the wells were categorized as having severe restrictions, 7% as high restrictions, 22.2% as moderate restrictions, and 42.2% as low restrictions for irrigation in study area, it indicating that more than half of the area has wells suitable for irrigation. These results suggest that the majority of wells in the Sidi Allal region is appropriate for irrigation purposes. This research further suggests implementing suitable di-chlorination, sodium reduction, and denitrification methods to enhance the quality of ground-water for irrigation use.