Distribution of Trace Elements in the Shallow Aquifer of Guenniche (North Tunisia)

This paper examines the trace elements level in the shallow groundwater of the Guenniche plain (North Tunisia) and its suitability for drinking water use in comparison with national (NT 2013) and international (WHO 2006) standards. Samples collected from twenty (20) wells and ten (10) streams in May 2016 were analyzed for the most common trace elements contents (arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, iron, manganese, mercury, selenium and zinc). Cadmium (1.14–6.11 µg/l) and mercury (0.06–2.89 µg/l) showed higher values in surface water in comparison to the groundwater (0.06–5.43 µg/l for Cd and 0.04–1.91 for Hg µg/l). The severely polluted wells, located in the El Alia region in the border of Wadi El Malah, are considered to impose high human health risk. The irrational use of pesticides, the uncontrolled waste disposal and the untreated industrial wastewater effluents directly into the streams are strongly associated with the deterioration of the water quality of surface and groundwater of Guenniche plain.