Author(s)

Abdelmadjid Boufekane, Omar Saighi

Department of Geology, Faculty of Earth Sciences and Country Planning, University of Sciences and Technology Houari Boumediene, Algiers, Algeria.
Water and Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Higher National School of Hydraulics, Blida, Algeria.

This paper presents the effect of recharge and irrigation on the variation of nitrate in the groundwater of wadi Djendjen (Jijel—North-East Algeria) where the intensive use of fertilizers and the recycling of irrigation water have resulted in an alarming increase in nitrate concentrations. In this plain, the groundwater is increasingly polluted by excessive use of fertilizers in agriculture. Indeed, in several areas of irrigated vegetable crops, water contains nitrate levels which exceed the allowed standards for human consumption. The present study consists of a spatio-temporal monitoring of nitrate in groundwater in relation to the dilution caused when charging during the rainy season, on the one hand, and to the leaching by irrigation water during the dry season, on the other hand. The results obtained show an increase in the contamination of groundwater by nitrates and their seasonal variations under the effects of recharge and irrigation.

Agricultural Pollution; Nitrates; Recharge; Irrigation; Groundwater

A. Boufekane and O. Saighi, "Effect of Recharge and Irrigation on the Variation of Nitrate in the Groundwater of Wadi Djendjen (Jijel—North-East Algeria)," Journal of Water Resource and Protection, Vol. 5 No. 10, 2013, pp. 972-977. doi: 10.4236/jwarp.2013.510100.