The Fate of Base Metals in the Environment and Water Quality in the Mellegue Watershed, Northwest Tunisia

Mlayah, Ammar; Lachaal, Fethi; Chekirbane, Anis; Khadar, S.; Silva, Eduardo Ferreira da

doi:10.1007/s10230-017-0430-z

Cited by 13 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…In fact, for the end of the moist period, the calcium concentrations ranged from 210.72 (Site 4) to 351.72 (Site 1) mg l -1 and from 168.58 (Site 3) to 260.53 (Site 1) mg l -1 in half of the dry one (Figure 5). The highest results were found in River Mellègue for both campaigns, which is an immediate consequence of its geological composition (Mlayah et al, 2017). The decrease in calcium concentrations between the two campaigns in sites 1, 2, and 3 could be related to its adsorption onto clay minerals and deposition to the bottom in the dry season, as observed by El Bourie ( 2008).…”

Section: Calcium Magnesium Ions and Total Hardness Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 55%

“…In order to assess the physicochemical contamination level in the Medjerda watercourse and its tributaries five sampling sites were selected: River Mellègue (S1), Boussalem (S2), River Kasseb (S3), River Béjà (S4) and Medjez El Beb (S5) (Figures 2 and 3). The sampling stations were selected mainly for: (i) their pollution sources along the river and its tributaries, (ii) their accessibility, and (iii) the results obtained in previous works (Etteieb et al, 2017;Mlayah et al, 2017). As previously mentioned, the Medjerda River is influenced by urban and industrial wastewater.…”

Section: Sampling Strategymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Tunisia, the Medjerda River is the primary watercourse used for irrigation and drinking water. This main river is exposed to urban, industrial wastewater, mines, and agricultural runoff (Mlayah et al, 2017). Thus, the continuous water pollution will threaten, along with climate change, its water availability.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the aquatic environment, sediments are widely used as indicators for assessing their metallic pollution (Islam et al, 2015). The investigation of the presence of heavy metals is a valuable tool to evaluate the anthropogenic and industrial impacts and hazards posed by waste discharges and mines (Saleem et al, 2015;Mlayah et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Water quality assessment of surface water is of higher priority for implementing the optimal allocation of their uses, mainly irrigation and drinking water. The increase of urbanization along the Medjerda River has led to water demand for agricultural use and drinking water (Mlayah et al, 2017). The quality of water used for irrigation is of significant concern as the use of poor water quality, beyond the recommended threshold level of admissible concentrations, could lead to the: (i) crop yield reduction, (ii) degradation of soils properties by the accumulation of toxic constituents, (iii) irrigation equipment damage and (iv) deterioration of groundwater as their levels are rising (Dinka, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Physico-chemical quality of the Medjerda River in Tunisia and suitability for irrigation during the moist and the dry seasons

Ayed¹,

Horry²,

Sabbahi³

et al. 2022

Bull. Soc. R. Sci. Liege

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Surface waters are usually exposed to industrial, urban, and agricultural wastes. This study assessed the water and the sediments quality of the important primary watercourse in Tunisia and the principal source of domestic and irrigation purposes, the Medjerda River. Water samples were analyzed for total suspended solids, calcium, magnesium, total hardness, carbonates, bicarbonates, residual sodium hazard, and magnesium hazard. They were collected from five sampling sites along the Medjerda watercourse from upstream to downstream through two campaigns, one at the end of the moist period and the other at the half of the dry one in line with irrigation. The presence of high concentrations of (i) magnesium, which varied from 25.51 to 61.65 mg l-1 for the moist period and from 27.58 to 133.10 mg l-1 for the dry one; (ii) carbonates that varied from 18.0 mg l-1for the two campaigns to respectively 49.8 and 66.0 mg l-1 for the humid and the dry periods and (iii) total hardness that varied from 646.5 to 1043.0 mg l-1 for the moist period and from 503.0 to 741.0 mg l-1 for the dry one could in the future pose threats and toxicity to soil and plants when the water will be continuously used for irrigation. Sediments samples were also collected, and their contamination by heavy metals was assessed through two indicators: contamination factor (CF) and pollution load index. Results depicted severe metal contamination mainly from cadmium, of which CF varied from 3.33 to 22.66. Protection of Medjerda River and its tributaries is compulsory to prevent the apparent deterioration of its water quality.

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Section: Calcium Magnesium Ions and Total Hardness Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 55%

Section: Sampling Strategymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%