Assessment of vulnerability to groundwater pollution in Department of Odienné (North-West Côte d’Ivoire)

Abstract

Drinking water supply to populations is increasingly oriented towards the exploitation of groundwater whose quality meets WHO standards. However, groundwater is subjected to a pollution phenomenon of anthropogenic origin due to agro-industrial and mining operations that alter water quality. The objective of this study is to assess the vulnerability to pollution of fractured aquifers in the Department of Odienné in Côte d’Ivoire. The Aquifer Protection based on Protection, Reservoir and Infiltration (PaPRI) method, which is an adaptation of the PaPRIKa method of mapping of aquifer vulnerability, was used. The results show four classes, ranging from low vulnerability to very high vulnerability. The study area is dominated by an intermediate vulnerability class corresponding to 52% of the study area followed by high and very high vulnerability classes, which represent 42% of the study area. This predominance shows that groundwater in the Odienné region is exposed to a high risk of pollution.