TITLE:
Application of GIS and DRASTIC Modeling for Evaluation of Groundwater Vulnerability near a Solid Waste Disposal Site
AUTHORS:
Chonattu Jaseela, Kavya Prabhakar, Puthenveedu Sadasivan Pillai Harikumar
KEYWORDS:
Groundwater Vulnerability, DRASTIC Model, Geographic Information System, Hydrogeological Parameters
JOURNAL NAME:
International Journal of Geosciences,
Vol.7 No.4,
April
27,
2016
ABSTRACT: The study aims at evaluating the groundwater vulnerability to
contamination in the vicinity of a solid waste disposal site, Njelianparamba, a
municipal dumping site in Kozhikode, Kerala, India, using DRASTIC model using
Geographic Information System environment. Vulnerability maps are intended to
show areas of most potential to groundwater contamination on the basis of
hydrogeological conditions and human impacts. The DRASTIC model consists of
seven hydrogeologicalparameters
that affect groundwater quality. The ESRI GIS software, Arc Map 10.1 was used
tocreate the groundwater
vulnerability map by overlaying the seven layers. The resulting vulnerability
map was then validated using chemical and bacteriological analysis of samples
collected from nearby wells of the dumping site to assess the area which is of
more potential risk to pollution. According to the vulnerability map, the study
area was divided into three vulnerability classes ranging between a minimum
value of 120 and a maximum value of 243. The vulnerability classes are moderate
vulnerable, high vulnerable and very high vulnerable. The vulnerability map revealed
that the eastern and south eastern portion of Njelianparamba dump site was very
highly vulnerable to groundwater contamination. This is probably due to the
lower sloped terrains towards the eastern portion which allows percolation of
contaminants into the groundwater.