Groundwater Geochemical and Quality of the Continental Intercalary Aquifer in Béni Ounif (Southwest Algeria)

The main objective of this work was to study the status of groundwater quality for drinking and irrigation uses in the locality of Beni Ounif. A total of 16 samples were taken at different locations in the study area from boreholes to capture the continental intercalary (CI) aquifer for physicochemical analysis. This work used the groundwater quality index (GWQI) method to evaluate water potability. The irrigation water quality was assessed by studying EC, SAR, Na%, KR, PI, and MR parameters. In addition, the mechanisms of mineralization of these waters were highlighted by the study of Piper, Gibbs, bivariate diagrams, and the calculation of saturation indices. The results show that the CI waters would have chemical constituents in accordance with the WHO guide values and the Algerian guide values for drinking water. The GWQI method showed a good quality of CI waters for consumption in the study area. On based the irrigation water parameters, the IC water samples are acceptable for irrigation provided that drainage techniques are applied to the cultivated land for tipsy soil salinization. In addition, the study of Piper, Gibbs, bivariate, and mineral saturation diagrams shows that the CI waters of the study area are of Ca-Mg-SO4-Cl type, and the hydrogeochemical processes that control their mineralization are complex, namely, the alteration of silicate and carbonate minerals, the dissolution of gypsum and exchange ion.