Impact of cesspools sanitation system on the physicochemical and bacteriological groundwater quality of El Kolea’s locality (Agadir Region, South Morocco)

The aim of this work is to study the impact of cesspools on groundwater quality, used as sanitation system in El Kolea’s municipality in the Agadir region-south of Morocco. Waters of three boreholes used for population drinking have undergone physicochemical and bacteriological analysis. The physicochemical analysis was performed by measuring the following parameters: temperature (T), pH, nitrite (NO2-), nitrates (NO3-), ammonium (NH4+), electrical conductivity (EC) and turbidity (Tur). The bacteriological analysis of Fecal Indicators Bacteria (FIB) parameters i.e. total coliforms (TC), fecal coliforms (FC) and fecal streptococci (FS) have been carried out. The results showed that physicochemical parameters analyzed are within the Moroccan standards. However, water from these boreholes exceeds the standards of the bacteriological quality. The high presence of fecal bacteria represents a significant risk to the health of populations consuming these waters. Thus, the used cesspools do not respect hygiene rules and the generated wastewater contaminates the groundwater