An Assessment Of Groundwater Vulnerability Models For Use At Land Conversation Departments

This book shows the effectiveness of DRASTIC model in a geographical setting for validation of vulnerable zones and presents the optimization of parameters for the development of precise maps highlighting several zones with varied contamination. Impact of vadose zone has also been assessed by considering every sub-surface layer. Exclusive title covering effectiveness of DRASTIC model for groundwater vulnerability assessment Reviews of the strengths and limitations of assessment methods Presents multi-criteria evaluation of hydro-geological and anthropogenic factors Discusses integration with geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) Includes application of groundwater governance framework with a case study study of a geographical setting

Since the need to protect ground water from pollution was recognized, researchers have made progress in understanding the vulnerability of ground water to contamination. Yet, there are substantial uncertainties in the vulnerability assessment methods now available. With a wealth of detailed information and practical advice, this volume will help decision-makers derive the most benefit from available assessment techniques. It offers: Three laws of ground water vulnerability. Six case studies of vulnerability assessment. Guidance for selecting vulnerability assessments and using the results. Reviews of the strengths and limitations of assessment methods. Information on available data bases, primarily at the federal level. This book will be indispensable to policymakers and resource managers, environmental professionals, researchers, faculty, and students involved in ground water issues, as well as investigators developing new assessment methods.

This volume offers detailed comparisons and validations of different methods of assessing groundwater vulnerability (DRASTIC, GOD, PI, RTt, AVI, SINTACS, COP). It contains new aspects of vulnerability assessment for the evaluation of coastal aquifer vulnerability and aquifer vulnerability to methane gas leakage from shale gas wells. The book also contains the results of studies on intrinsic and specific vulnerability assessment (migration of antibiotics and nitrate, groundwatersurface water interaction), with examples of the different national approaches to groundwater vulnerability mapping in Poland, Ireland, Italy and elsewhere. There are 15 chapters derived from two IAH conferences held in Ustron ́, Poland in 2015 and 2018. The book is valuable for those interested in groundwater vulnerability, in risk assessment, and in environmental issues. It is aimed at land use planners, water managers, the environmental industry, regional and local environmental protection councils and students studying hydrogeology and environmental sciences.

This volume presents the contemporary issues surrounding groundwater pollution risk assessment and the application of vulnerability and risk assessment maps for the effective protection and management of aquifers. Numerous new and improved approaches to intrinsic and specific vulnerability assessment (modified DRASTIC, GOD, VULK, VURAAS) are descri

Modeling groundwater vulnerability to pollution is critical for implementing programs to protect groundwater quality. Traditionally, groundwater vulnerability was modeled based on current hydrogeology and land use conditions. However, groundwater vulnerability is strongly dependent on factors such as depth-to-water, recharge and land use conditions that may change in response to future changes in climate and/or socio-economic conditions. For example, global warming may lead to northward shifts in cropping patterns and changes in crop mixes (and use of farm chemicals). Meanwhile, growing demands for biofuels are resulting in expanding corn acreage, and may lead to pressures to remove land from the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) or otherwise open lands that are currently not cropped to cultivation. Such changes may have significant implications for groundwater quality. In this research, a modeling framework, which employs four sub-models linked within a GIS environment, was presented to evaluate the groundwater pollution risks under future climate and land use changes in North Dakota. The major sub-models include a groundwater vulnerability model and a biofuels-related land use change model, which were illustrated in two separate studies. The results showed that areas with high vulnerability will expand northward and/or northwestward in Eastern North Dakota under different scenarios. GIS-based models that account for future changes in climate and land use can help decision-makers identify potential future threats to groundwater quality and take early steps to protect this critical resource.

Groundwater is an integral piece of California's groundwater resources. One of the most common contaminants present in groundwater is nitrate. Nitrate contamination is often a result of agricultural land use activities on the ground surface. The study area for this analysis is the Salinas Valley Groundwater Basin, an agriculturally dominated basin in coastal California. The Salinas Valley Basin is both one of the most agriculturally productive areas of the state, as well as one of the most nitrate-contaminated basins in the state. The purpose of this research was to develop a groundwater vulnerability map for nitrate pollution in the Salinas Valley. A groundwater vulnerability assessment was carried out using a modified DRASTIC model. DRASTIC is a U.S. EPA rank-sum model for assessing groundwater vulnerability that incorporates depth to water, net recharge, aquifer media, soil media, topography, impact of the vadose zone, and hydraulic conductivity. In order to modify the DRASTIC model to assess nitrate contamination specifically, a land use parameter was incorporated into the model. The results of this assessment found 2.9% of the Basin has very low vulnerability, 50.6% has low vulnerability, 42.9% has moderate vulnerability, and 3.6% has high vulnerability. The results of the groundwater vulnerability assessment could not be validated using measured nitrate concentrations in the Basin. Four possible reasons for the poor fit of this assessment have been identified: (1) the temporal variability of select DRASTIC parameters, (2) the inability of the land use parameter to accurately represent nitrate vulnerability, (3) the high spatial variable of nitrate contamination in the Basin, and (4) the static weights assigned to parameters by the DRASTIC model.