Using statistical analyses for improving rating methods for groundwater vulnerability in contamination maps

With the aim of developing procedures coping with the disadvantages and emphasising the advantages of existing rating methods and the use of statistical methods for assessing groundwater vulnerability, we propose to combine the two approaches to perform a groundwater vulnerability assessment in a st...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Environmental earth sciences Vol. 75; no. 12; p. 1
Main Authors:	Bonfanti, M., Ducci, D., Masetti, M., Sellerino, M., Stevenazzi, S.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-06-2016 Springer Nature B.V
Subjects:	Agricultural industry Biogeosciences Earth and Environmental Science Earth Sciences Environmental Science and Engineering Geochemistry Geology Groundwater Groundwater pollution Groundwater Vulnerability Hydrogeology Hydrology/Water Resources Nitrates Risk assessment Statistical analysis Statistical methods Terrestrial Pollution Thematic Issue Urban agriculture Nitrate contamination Groundwater vulnerability assessment Weights and ratings Statistical analyses
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Summary:	With the aim of developing procedures coping with the disadvantages and emphasising the advantages of existing rating methods and the use of statistical methods for assessing groundwater vulnerability, we propose to combine the two approaches to perform a groundwater vulnerability assessment in a study area in Italy. In the case study, located in an area of northern Italy with both urban and agricultural sectors, keeping the structure of the DRASTIC rating method, we used a spatial statistical approach to calibrate weights and ratings of a series of variables, potentially affecting groundwater vulnerability. In order to verify the effectiveness of these procedures, the results were compared to a non-modified approach and to the map resulting from the “Time–Input” method, highlighting the advantages that can be obtained, and defining the general limit of these applications. The revised method shows a more realistic distribution of vulnerability classes in accordance with the distribution of wells impacted by high nitrate concentration, demonstrating the importance of taking into account the specific hydrogeological conditions of the area.
ISSN:	1866-6280 1866-6299
DOI:	10.1007/s12665-016-5793-0