Water contamination from uncontrolled landfills is a critical environmental and public health challenge in developing regions. This study evaluates the physicochemical, bacteriological, and metallic (trace elements) pollution of surface and groundwater in the Oued Inaouen watershed near Taza, Morocco, specifically assessing the impact of landfill leachate. Eight stations (six surface and two groundwater) were monitored during three campaigns (March 2020, May 2021, and May 2022). Analysis covered nutrients, organic matter (BODs, COD), heavy metals, and microbial indicators. Water quality was quantified using WQI, CPI, HPI, and MI indices alongside carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic human health risk assessments. Results reveal significant deterioration downstream of the landfill, with Mn, Al, Fe, and As concentrations frequently exceeding WHO guidelines. Pollution indices confirmed severe contamination at sites O2, O4, and O6. Furthermore, the Hazard Index (HI) exceeded safe thresholds, particularly for children, while carcinogenic risks for Cd, Ni, As, Cr, and Pb surpassed the 10
-4
limit. These findings highlight an urgent need for improved waste management and remediation strategies to protect local ecosystems and public health.
Amina Abouabdallah, Abdelhak Bourjila, Mohamed Ben Abbou et al.· E3S Web of Conferences· 0 citations
Soil erosion and land degradation pose a persistent threat to semi-arid mountain catchments, where steep relief, erodible substrates, and concentrated seasonal runoff drive high sediment loss. This study prioritizes the 53 sub-watersheds of the Upper Sebou watershed (Middle Atlas, northern Morocco; 7368 km²) for soil and water conser - vation through quantitative morphometric analysis. Basic basin parameters were extracted from a digital elevation model (DEM) in ArcGIS, from which the linear, areal, and relief morphometric parameters were computed using established mathematical formulas. Each parameter was ranked across the sub-watersheds, and the ranks were averaged to obtain a compound parameter (Cp) expressing the relative erosion susceptibility and conservation priority of each unit. Compound parameter values ranged from 19.63 to 38 and were grouped into five priority classes; 12 sub-watersheds (≈23%) were classified as very high and 17 as high priority. The very-high units form a contiguous core along the upper Sebou channel in the center of the basin, together with a detached pocket on the eastern flank, where high drainage density and relief coincide with compact watershed shapes that favor rapid runoff concentration. The drainage network and relief are densest along the central drainage corridor, where the highest-priority sub-watersheds are concentrated; these units also coincide with the more erodible lithologies and the sectors of lowest vegetation cover, which corroborates the ranking with information not used in its calculation. Overall, the approach offers an effective, low-cost means of pinpointing land-degradation hotspots and prioritizing conservation interventions, readily transferable to other data-scarce semi-arid basins.
Brahim Bougdira, B. Layan, Imrane Eddoum et al.· Ecological Engineering &...· 0 citations
