Pollutants Of Agricultural Origin Research Articles

Study of the impact of the wild dump leachates of the region of El Hajeb (Morocco) on the physicochemical quality of the adjacent water table

The main objective of this work is to establish a first state of the situation of the groundwater quality in the region of El Hajeb (Morocco) which houses the wild municipal landfill. Within the framework of a first sampling campaign, groundwater samples were then collected from 43 groundwater points during the May 2015 until January 2017. Analyses using standardized methods were based on physicochemical parameters such as pH, electrical conductivity, iodide, dissolved oxygen, oxidizability to permanganate….The results highlighted the existence of organic pollution, due to the presence of the wild discharge, septic tanks and pit latrines revealed by the concentration in oxidizability to KMnO4, which exceeded the Moroccan standards set at 5 mg/L.Pollution by Chlorides in some areas of the aquifer was also revealed, with high chloride levels exceeding 380 mg/L and was confirmed by high conductivity values (3700 μS/cm). If a pollution of agricultural origin is evoked, one cannot neglect the effect of the practice of the time modification technique on the concentration of some major ions. These first observations, have allowed us to confirm the extent of leachate plume of the wild landfill to groundwater, so the decision-makers and the persons in charge are being solicited to intervene to protect the water table.

The public policies for reducing nonpoint water pollution between equity and efficiency

This paper investigates if and how equity and efficiency could be reconciled when improving nitrogen-polluted groundwater of agricultural origin. This is achieved through comparing two pollution control programmes with respect to their costs, water quality impacts and correlation between abatement cost and polluting emissions. The fieldwork was done in a watershed, near the French Alps. It was carried out by economists in close relation with agronomists and hydrologists. The difficulty of the assessment of the environmental impact of the foreseen technological scenarios is overcome by developing an indicator of environmental effectiveness able to grasp the level of nitrate pollution of agricultural origin and to check whether the pollution control programmes are able to reach the given environmental target or not. The results show that it is only in the framework of a more flexible regulatory system that total abatement costs are reduced, and equity and efficiency reconciled,. This is due to the specific situation in agriculture the combination of various productions in every farm. This characteristic explains why the heterogeneity of the abatement costs is more significant within the firm (between production systems) rather than between firms.

Groundwater Pollution by Heavy Metals in Historical Mining Area of Lavrio, Attica, Greece

This article deals with the impacts of past mining activities andinefficient water resources management on groundwater quality inthe Lavrio area. Thirty-three water samples were collectedduring March 1998 and were analyzed for major ions (Ca, Mg, Na,K, HCO3, Cl, NO3, SO4, PO4), trace elements(Fe, Pb, Ni, Zn, Mn, Cu, Cr, Cd) and water parameters (Temperature,pH, conductivity, hardness and SiO2). High concentrationsof heavy metals (lead, cadmium, zinc, nickel) are recorded ingroundwater samples in the Lavrio area. The highestconcentrations are recorded in the unconfined aquifer (alluvialdeposits and schists), due to mining activities. Qualitydeterioration of groundwater is also decumented and attributedto seawater intrusion and nitrate pollution of agriculturalorigin. The data were subjected to simple correlation analysisand R-mode factor analysis in order to examine the relationshipsbetween the parameters. There is a relationship between theelements participating in the sulfide (Pb, Zn, Cu, Cd) andiron-manganese mineralization and a strong relationship betweenNi–Cr. In the factor analysis a four-factor model is suggested,which can explain 72.5% of the total variance. The contributionof each factor at every site is also computed and maps showingthe geographical distribution are illustrated. The areas withhigh concentrations of heavy metals are defined from these maps.

Stochastic modelling of N-leaching using gis and multivariate statistical methods

After the growing season, a part of the nitrogen remains in forms sensitive to changes of the conditions, such as nitrate. In years with above-average precipitation a significant amount of nitrate can leave the rooting zone. Integration of knowledge related to environmental conditions of a certain area with the soil, water, and crop management practices helps to prevent the simultaneity of the unfavourable processes leading to nitrate leaching, thus water resources may be protected from nitrate pollution of agricultural origin. In our work we present a stochastic approach for the evaluation of the vulnerability of soils for nitrate leaching. The method was applied for mapping N-leaching hazard in Hungary at a scale of 1:1M.