Abstract

This study assesses the occurrence of nitrate in the groundwater beneath the R'mel area of the Loukkos perimeter (north-west Morocco), which covers an approximate area of 2560 km² and is located between the towns of Ksar el Kebir and Larache. It also borders the Atlantic Ocean. Groundwater supplies are the principal source of drinking water in this region and there is no public drinking water network in the rural area. This perimeter has a population of about 500 000 inhabitants of which the rural population represents 60%, many of whom have depended on and used the water from the aquifers for many years. The inhabitants and farmers depend on the groundwater supplies for drinking water, crop irrigation and other uses. The plain provides the ideal conditions for agriculture and the use of chemical fertilisers has been increasing. In this study, 53 water samples were collected from wells and springs. Each well or spring was sampled once or twice during 1998–2000. Nitrate concentrations ranged from extremely low up to 144 mg L⁻¹. Nitrate concentrations exceeded the maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 50 mg L⁻¹ in 12 of the 53 groundwater samples (23%), whereas 31 of the 53 samples (58%) had nitrate concentrations of less than 25 mg L⁻¹.