US EPA

3850219 

Journal Article 

Impact of Agriculture Upon the Chemical Quality of Groundwaters within the Saharian Atlas Steppe El-Meita (Khenchela-Algeria) 

Sedrati, A; Houha, B; Romanescu, G; Sandu, IG; Diaconu, DC; Sandu, Ion 

2017 

1 

Revista de Chimie
ISSN: 0034-7752
EISSN: 2668-8212 

CHIMINFORM DATA S A 

BUCHAREST 

68 

2 

420-423 

WOS:000397043100049 

The El-Meita plateau is situated in the south of the city of Khenchela and it is delimited by the Saharan Atlas to the north and Chott Melghir to the south. The agricultural importance and the high productivity of this region are provided by the aggressive use of chemical fertilizers. For this reason, we have decided to conduct this study considering that all water bodies - superficial waters and groundwaters - record significant amounts of NO3-,NO2-, NH4- heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn and Hg) and other major chemical elements. The.2 campaign of collecting the 30 water samples took place in the month of May 2016. The chemical analyses were conducted in the Lacip ain-Mlila laboratory in Algeria. Findings show a contamination of groundwater by nitrates and lead; values exceed the maximum limits approved by World Health Organization (WHO). TDS were also found in high concentrations, which limit the use of water for some agricultural cultures, but which can be admissible for certain salinity -resistant species. 

Aridity; Irrigations; Heavy metals; Nitrates; Pollution