EVALUATION OF MEXA DAM WATER QUALITY IN EL TARF REGION (EXTREME NORTH-EAST ALGERIA)

Abstract

The water is a precious natural resource and vital for the living beings, the increasing water demand for irrigation or feeding, have made necessary the construction of a great number of dams that require an excellent physicochemical quality. The objective of our work is to evaluate the seasonal water quality of Mexa dam (Eastern Algeria) during four years 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. The present work aims to establish a physicochemical characterization to determine the parameters affecting the water quality, such as temperature, conductivity, turbidity, Hydrometric title, salinity, complete alkalimetric title, calcium, magnesium, bicarbonate, chloride, iron, pH, dry residue (DR), organic matter (OM), nitrate, nitrite, ammonium, biological oxygen demand (BOD₅) and chemical oxygen demand (COD). The results of the water physico-chemical analyses of this dam show that the majority of the obtained values are in conformity with standards, thus the water can directly be used for irrigation. According to NAHR grid, the water quality records of Mexa dam show a medium quality for the majority of the studied parameters. The level of nitrogenous matter (NH₄⁺, NO₂^-) in the water is high during 2016 and 2017, this pollution is caused by the oxidation of nitrogenous organic matter.