Agriculture and the Quality of Running Waters in Meknes Area (Morocco) -
Impact on Environment and Health

Lahcen Karrouch & Abdelkader Chahladoui

UFR: « Quality and Hydrobiological Operation of the Watery Systems»
Laboratory of Biochemistry and Environment, College of Sciences Meknes (Morocco)
e-mail: karrouchlahcen@yahoo.fr

Abstract

Agriculture always had an environmental impact; its evolution and development contribute to the setting causes the quality of water. This is why, it is necessary to study the impact of agricultural activities on this quality.
The area of Meknès is characterized with agricultural vocation. The city rivers (Bouishake, Boufekrane and Ouislane) are subject to a multitude of anthropogenic actions: fertilizers and plant health products (insecticides, fungicides and weedkillers) equipped with toxicological properties which join discharge worn water.
This paper is a contribution to the study of the biological quality of the area hydrographic network and its effect on environment and health. The study was carried out on samples chosen from 15 stations in the 3 rivers.
The results show increasing quality deterioration from upstream towards downstream. Chemicals intensive use in the catchment’s area considerably influences the rivers aquatic life. Indeed, levels of most chemical parameters (NO3 --, Nitrogenizes Total, HPO42 -, and H2PO4-...) confirm the critical state of pollution in the studied rivers.
The conclusion from this study is that the three rivers are suffering from intense high chemical pollution.

Keywords: Agriculture, Water, Chemical pollution, Meknes, Environment, Health