Surface water quality of the oued-charef sub-basin: threats to the foum El Khenga dam, Algeria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22399/ijcesen.5232Keywords:
Surface water quality, Salinity and mineralization, Evaporitic formationsAbstract
Insufficient irrigation water supply created an alarming situation for the authorities. A policy of constructing large dams was initiated and implemented. Faced with excessive water pollution and mineralization, the study of these phenomena, their origins, their assessment, and the recommended solutions became crucial, hence this study originated. This study investigates the contamination and pollution of surface waters in the Oued Charef upstream sub-watershed (northeastern Algeria), located in a semi-arid environment. Runoff from carbonate formations and from Triassic, Mio-Pliocene, and Quaternary evaporitic deposits drains toward the Foum El Khenga Dam reservoir.Monthly water sampling campaigns from the dam reservoir, the Sedrata wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and some tributaries (representative) were carried out on a hydrological cycle for physical (T, EC, TDS), and chemical (major elements and pollution indicators) analyses. In a qualitative context, the origin and mineralization of the waters were determined using diagrams (binary and chemical facies distinction), ionic ratios, and the spatiotemporal evolution of physicochemical parameters. This was supported by a multivariate descriptive statistical analysis, including principal component analysis (PCA), hierarchical ascending classification (HAC), and box plots. All the methods used revealed practically similar results.The compared data revealed three origins or groups of waters: - evaporitic (G2), - carbonate (G1) and - mixture (G3). For a more precise determination of the mixing proportions between fresh and salt water, future research studies will focus on the use of stable isotopes (δ¹⁸O and δ²H). The Sedrata WWTP effectively reduces polluting organic loads by decreasing BOD₅ and COD by more than 95%. Modernizing the existing treatment plant to include a tertiary dephosphorization stage to prevent long-term eutrophication is a crucial task that cannot be overlooked.
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