Assessment of Water Quality Using Water Quality Index – Case Study of Bakoya Aquifer, Al Hoceima, Northern Morocco

Abstract

This work developed a groundwater quality index for the BAKOYA aquifer of the Al Hoceima city, Morocco, as well as the monitoring of physicochemical and bacteriological parameters of major chemical elements in the water used as drinking water for a large population of the region. The samples were taken in the coastal aquifer Bakoya Al Hoceima. The waters of the Rif region are highly mineralized and marked by sodium chloride or sodium-sulfate facies related mainly to a process of marine intrusion and dissolution of evaporite minerals included in the site rocks. The results obtained with the WQI index showed that 12 samples are eligible for excellent quality, while 18 samples are not good enough for consumption as drinking water. The results show that the groundwater samples studied are characterized by medium to high salinity, exceeding 4000 S/cm. This mineralization of marine beginning is somewhat because of the severe abuse of groundwater and avalanches, known in the region because of the earthquake, which accelerates the phenomenon of saltwater intrusion in the coastal karstic aquifer. The salinity of this water reaches salinization levels C3 and C4, as classified by the Wilcox diagram, and the waters of the Bakoya massif have been qualified as very hard. Examination of the hydrochemical results with the drinking water quality norms set by the World Health Organization shows that most of the water inspected is not suitable for utilization, mainly because of the high levels of EC, TDS, and linked to marine intrusion, as well as the urban pollution factor that increases the content in the water.