Application of the “PRK Plus” approach to evaluate the sensitivity of the Coastal Aquifer of Ghiss-Nekkour against pollution (North East of Morocco)

Abstract

In the North East of the Moroccan Mediterranean coast, 15 km south east of the Al Hoceima city, the coastal aquifer of Ghiss-Nekkour occupies an area of 100 km2. Its exploitation constitutes a priority economic imperative for the city of Al Hoceima and its hinterland, due to the tourist character of the city and the agricultural orientation of the region. In the surface of this study area, alternate rural-type habitats with autonomous sanitation systems, agricultural plots, uncultivated land, a few small industrial units, a local road network, in addition to the International Airport Charif El Idrissi. These are various potential sources of local anthropogenic groundwater contamination. Their intensity may grow with the socio-economic development that knows the region as a whole. In this work, the authors apply a new multicriteria approach of acronym “PRK Plus” to assess the sensitivity of the coastal aquifer Ghiss-Nekkour to anthropogenic pollution. The results obtained from this application show that despite the aggressiveness of the Ghiss-Nekkour groundwater pollution sources, 98% of the total surface area of the water table is “very little sensitive” to anthropogenic contamination.