Impact of hydroagricultural structures on groundwater in arid area. Case of the KTAOUA aquifer (Middle Valley of Draa - South of Morocco)

Résumé

In an area strongly marked by the features of aridity, the Middle Draa constitutes a discontinuous hydraulic area entirely dependent on the Draa river whose very irregular regime was regulated by the Mansour Eddahbi dam. 

Since its operation, this infrastructure has been able to improve the availability of water in the Middle Draa following the mobilization of surface water and consequently increase the area annually cultivable, which has changed the regime of the underground water tables. Also, through this paper, we present a hydrogeological synthesis of the Ktaoua aquifer, one of the six aquifers in the Middle Draa Valley to define the main potentials and identify the main effects related to the hydroagricultural development in place.