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Assessment of impacts of industrial effluents on physico-chemical and microbiological qualities of irrigation water of the Fez Rriver, Morocco

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A Correction to this article was published on 11 May 2023

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Abstract

Global water consumption has grown twice as fast as the population. Wastewater is therefore a valuable and renewable source and provides additional water for priority uses. Wastewater can also be a source of pollution; thus, its physico-chemical and biological compositions can present major risks to the environment and human health. The objective of this study was to assess the status of irrigation waters in terms of salinization, accumulation of metallic elements, and microbiological contamination by parasites and pathogenic bacteria. The study focused on the surface water of Oued Fès used for irrigation located downstream of the industrial zone of Doukkarat and upstream of the industrial zone of Ain Noukbi (wastewater) before the confluence with the Oued Sebou, as well as on the treated wastewater of the wastewater treatment plant. The physico-chemical and microbiological analyses were carried out in two periods: summer and winter. Metals were analyzed by ICP-AES. The chemical and bacteriological quality of the wastewater and treated wastewater was found to be poor. These were characterized by organic pollution, including biodegradable pollutants, while upstream the organic residues were not biodegradables. COD, BOD5, Kjeldahl nitrogen, as well as chloride ion (Cl−) are above the standard values. The highest concentrations of Cd, at 850 µg/l, Cu, at 690 µg/l and Mn, at 470 µg/l, largely exceed the international standards and requirements. In addition to fecal contamination, characterized by total coliforms and thermo-tolerant coliforms, other pathogens were present, including helminth eggs, both in the wastewater and in the treated wastewater. Other pathogens, such as Vibrio cholera, were found at all three sites whether in winter or summer, with the exception of the downstream of Oued Fez in winter. As for Salmonella, it was present in treated wastewater during the winter only. The water used for irrigation upstream of Oued Fez and the treated wastewater have poor to very poor quality. Therefore, for a better use of these waters, it is necessary to ensure their regular treatment in order to minimize the impacts on the environment and human health.

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Data availability

All data pertinent to this study are available upon request to the corresponding author.

Change history

  • 06 April 2023

    The e-mail address of the corresponding authors is correctly placed under their respective affiliation.

  • 11 May 2023

    A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-023-01549-0

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Funding

This work received no specific funding either internal or external.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Engineering, Electrochemistry, Modeling and Environment, Faculty of Sciences Dhar El Mahraz, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez, Morocco

    Jihan Faouzi, Noureddine Eloutassi & Amal Lahkimi

  2. Laboratory of Plant, Animal, and Agro-Industry Productions, Faculty of Sciences, University of Ibn Tofail (ITU), Kenitra, Morocco

    Sanae Rezouki

  3. Laboratory of Chemistry, Biochemistry Nutrition and Environment, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, University Hassan II, 20000, Casablanca, Morocco

    Mohammed Bourhia

  4. Polyvalent Laboratory in Research and development, Department of Biology, Poly-Disciplinary Faculty, Sultan MoulaySlimane University, BeniMellal, Morocco

    Tarik Moubchir

  5. Laboratories of Natural Resources and Environment Polydisciplinary, Faculty of Taza, B.P 1223, Taza, Morocco

    Mohamed Ben Abbou

  6. African Genome Centre (AGC), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Benguerir, Morocco

    Soukayna Baammi

  7. Biology Department, FSTE, Moulay Ismail University of Meknes, BP. 609, 52000, Errachidia, Morocco

    Farid Khallouki

  8. Chair of Medical & Molecular Genetics Research, Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 10219, Riyadh, 11433, Saudi Arabia

    Mourad A. M. Aboul-Soud

  9. Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences and Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

    John P. Giesy

  10. Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48895, USA

    John P. Giesy

  11. Department of Environmental Sciences, Baylor University, Waco, TX, 76798-7266, USA

    John P. Giesy

  12. Research Unit and Medical Biology, National Center for Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology, 10001, Cnesten, Rabat, Morocco

    Laila Benbacer

Authors
  1. Jihan Faouzi
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  2. Sanae Rezouki
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  3. Mohammed Bourhia
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  4. Tarik Moubchir
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  5. Mohamed Ben Abbou
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  6. Soukayna Baammi
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  7. Farid Khallouki
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  8. Mourad A. M. Aboul-Soud
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  9. John P. Giesy
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  10. Laila Benbacer
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  11. Noureddine Eloutassi
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  12. Amal Lahkimi
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Contributions

FJ carried out the sampling and the physicochemical and microbiological analyses with the support of BAMRS, MT, ASM, MB, FK, MAMA-S, and JPG. She supervised the data and statistical calculations. LA and EN supervised the project. MAMA-S and JPG contributed to writing the original draft and editing the final version. All authors participated in the writing of the article and validated the submitted version.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Jihan Faouzi or Mourad A. M. Aboul-Soud.

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The original online version of this article was revised: The seventh author name is corrected as “Farid Khallouki” and the last author name is corrected as “Amal Lahkimi”.

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Faouzi, J., Rezouki, S., Bourhia, M. et al. Assessment of impacts of industrial effluents on physico-chemical and microbiological qualities of irrigation water of the Fez Rriver, Morocco. Environ Geochem Health 45, 3933–3946 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-022-01449-9

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