Assessment of the hygienic quality of well and spring water: A case study of the Oued Leben watershed (Central Prerif, Morocco)

This study aimed to determine the physical, chemical, and bacteriological quality of groundwater in the Oued Leben basin and to identify the pollutants present and their origins. The research included a spatial study of 37 groundwater stations over a period of nine months (September 2024 to June 2025). The results showed spatial differentiation influenced by natural and human factors. The groundwater analyzed shows a deterioration in its physical-chemical and bacteriological quality, expressed by a high load of pathogenic bacteria and high salinity downstream of the Oued Leben, reaching 8.60 g/L in P1 and P10. This leads to a considerable deterioration in groundwater quality, calculated at approximately 86.5% of points with poor to very poor quality, thus rendering it unfit for human consumption. This deterioration depends mainly on various natural and anthropogenic factors.