Groundwater intrinsic vulnerability and risk mapping

Abstract

Groundwater vulnerability mapping is an important key to improving planning and decision-making processes in order to prevent groundwater contamination. This study generates groundwater vulnerability maps for the Izeh Plain in Iran using a modified Drastic model, geographical information system and remote sensing data. Sensitivity analysis was used to assign weight by showing the importance of each parameter in the Drastic model. The highest weight (5) was assigned to the aquifer media factor of the model, which had the highest mean value (4·53), and the lowest weight was assigned to the topography factor. The resulting maps revealed that the groundwater is highly vulnerable in the southwest Izeh Plain.