Abstract
Groundwater contamination is a major concern for groundwater resource managers worldwide. We evaluated groundwater pollution potential by producing a vulnerability map of an aquifer using a modified Depth to water, Net recharge, Aquifer media, Soil media, Topography, Impact of vadose zone, and Hydraulic conductivity (DRASTIC) model within a Geographic Information System (GIS) environment. The proposed modification which incorporated the use of statistical techniques optimizes the rating function of the DRASTIC model parameters, to obtain a more accurate vulnerability map. The new rates were computed using the relationships between the parameters and point data chloride concentrations in groundwater. The model was applied on Saveh-Nobaran plain in central Iran, and results showed that the coefficient of determination (R 2) between the point data and the relevant vulnerability map increased significantly from 0.52 to 0.78 after modification. As compared to the original DRASTIC model, the modified version produced better vulnerability zonation. Additionally, single-parameter and parameter removal sensitivity analyses were performed to evaluate the relative importance of each DRASTIC parameter. The results from both analyses revealed that the vadose zone is the most sensitive parameter influencing the variability of the aquifers’ vulnerability index. Based on the results, for non-point source pollution in agricultural areas, using the modified DRASTIC model is efficient compared to the original model. The proposed method can be effective for future groundwater assessment and plain-land management where agricultural activities are dominant.
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs10661-015-4915-6/MediaObjects/10661_2015_4915_Fig1_HTML.gif)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs10661-015-4915-6/MediaObjects/10661_2015_4915_Fig2_HTML.gif)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs10661-015-4915-6/MediaObjects/10661_2015_4915_Fig3_HTML.gif)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs10661-015-4915-6/MediaObjects/10661_2015_4915_Fig4_HTML.gif)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs10661-015-4915-6/MediaObjects/10661_2015_4915_Fig5_HTML.gif)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs10661-015-4915-6/MediaObjects/10661_2015_4915_Fig6_HTML.gif)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs10661-015-4915-6/MediaObjects/10661_2015_4915_Fig7_HTML.gif)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs10661-015-4915-6/MediaObjects/10661_2015_4915_Fig8_HTML.gif)
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Agriculture Statistical Report (2013). Ministry of Agriculture, Planning and Economic Deputy, Center for Information and Communication Technology (p. 405). Iran: Second volume. Tehran.
Akhavan, S., Mousavi, S. F., Abedi-Koupai, J., & Abbaspour, K. C. (2010). Conditioning DRASTIC model to simulate nitrate pollution case study: Hamadan–Bahar plain. Environmental Earth Science. doi:10.1007/s12665-010-0790-1.
Aller, L., Bennet, T., Lehr, J. H., Petty, R. J., & Hackett, G. (1987). DRASTIC: a standardized system for evaluating groundwater pollution potential using hydrogeological settings. EPA/600/2–87/035. USA: US Environmental Protection Agency.
Almasri, M. N. (2008). Assessment of intrinsic vulnerability to contamination for Gaza coastal aquifer, Palestine. Journal of Environmental Management, 88(4), 577–593.
Amiri, V., Sohrabi, N., & Altafi Dadgar, M. (2015). Evaluation of groundwater chemistry and its suitability for drinking and agricultural uses in the Lenjanat plain, central Iran. Environmental Earth Sciences. doi:10.1007/s12665-015-4638-6.
Baalousha, H. M. (2010a). Map** groundwater contamination risk using GIS and groundwater modeling. In A case study from the Gaza Strip, Palestine. Arabian Journal of: Geosciences. doi:10.1007/s12517-010-0135-0.
Baalousha, H. M. (2010b). Assessment of a groundwater quality monitoring network using vulnerability map** and geostatistics: a case study from Heretaunga Plains, New Zealand. Agricultural Water Management, 97, 240–246.
Babiker, I. S., Mohamed, M. A. A., Hiyama, T., Kato, K., (2005). A GIS-based DRASTIC model for assessing aquifer vulnerability in Kakamigahara Heights, Gifu Prefecture, Central Japan. Science of The Total Environment. 345,127–140.
Bai, L., Wang, Y., & Meng, F. (2012). Application of DRASTIC and extension theory in the groundwater vulnerability evaluation. Water Environment Journal, 26, 3.
De Martonne, E. (1955). Treaty of physical geography (3rd ed., ). Paris: Armand Colin.
Emberger, L. (1955). Une classification biogéographique des climats, (A biogeographic classification of climates). Recueil Trav. Lab. Bot. Géol. Zool. Fac. Sci. Univ. Montpellier, Serie Bontanique, 7, 3–43.
Gogu, R. C., & Dassargues, A. (2000). Sensitivity analysis for the EPIK method of vulnerability assessment in a small karstic aquifer, Southern Belgium. Hydrogeology Journal, 8(3), 337–345.
Gomezdelcampo, E., & Dickerson, J. R. (2008). A modified DRASTIC model for siting confined animal feeding operations in Williams County, Ohio, USA. Environmental Geology, 55, 1821–1832.
Hasiniaina, F., & Zhou, J. (2010). Regional assessment of groundwater vulnerability in Tamtsag basin, Mongolia using drastic model. Journal of American Science, 2010, 6(11).
Jamrah, A., Al-Futaisi, A., Rajmohan, N., & Al-Yaroubi, S. (2008). Assessment of groundwater vulnerability in the coastal region of Oman using DRASTIC index method in GIS environment. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 147, 125–138.
Javadi, S., Kavehkar, N., Mohammadi, K., Khodadi, A., & Kahawita, K. (2011). Calibration DRASTIC using field measurements, sensitivity analysis and statistical method to assess groundwater vulnerability. Water International, 36(6), 719–732.
Jayasekera, D. L., Kaluarachchi, J. J., & Villholth, K. G. (2011). Groundwater stress and vulnerability in rural coastal aquifers under competing demands: a case study from Sri Lanka. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 176, 13–30.
Kalinski, R., Kelly, W., Bogardi, I., Ehrman, R., & Yamamoto, P. (1994). Correlation between DRASTIC vulnerabilities and incidents of VOC contamination of municipal wells in Nebraska. Ground Water, 32(1), 31–34.
Kaliraj, S., Chandrasekar, N., Simon Peter, T., Selvakumar, S., & Magesh, N. S. (2015). Map** of coastal aquifer vulnerable zone in the south west coast of Kanyakumari, South India, using GIS-based DRASTIC model. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 187, 4073.
Knodel, K., Lange, G., & Voigt, H. J. (2007). Environmental geology, handbook field methods and case studies (1357p). Berlin Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag.
Lodwick, W. A., Monson, W., & Svoboda, L. (1990). Attribute error and sensitivity analysis of map operations in geographical information systems: suitability analysis. International Journal of Geographical Information Systems, 4(4), 413–428.
Masetti, M., Sterlacchini, S., Ballabio, C., Sorichetta, A., & Poli, S. (2009). Influence of threshold value in the use of statistical methods for groundwater vulnerability assessment. Science of the Total Environment, 407, 3836–3846.
Masetti, M., Poli, S., & Sterlacchini, S. (2007). The use of the weights-of-evidence modeling technique to estimate the vulnerability of groundwater to nitrate contamination. Natural Resources Research, 16, 2.
Mosavi-Khansari, M. (1991). Study of physico-chemical reclamation of saline and sodic soils in the plain of Saveh in Central Province. Iran. Dissertation: Tabriz University, Tabriz, Iran.
Napolitano, P., & Fabbri, A. G. (1996). Single-parameter sensitivity analysis for aquifer vulnerability assessment using DRASTIC and SINTACS Hydro GIS 96: application of geographical information systems in hydrology and water resources management. Proceedings of Conference, IAHS Pub, 235, 559–566.
Nasirzadeh, H. (2008). Agricultural production monitoring, forecasting networks and IPM in I.R. of Iran. IFCS VI. Pesticide Action Network: Asia and Pacific (PANAP), Dakar, Senegal.
Neshat, A., Pradhan, B., Pirasteh, S., & Shafri, H. Z. M. (2014a). An integrated GIS based statistical model to compute groundwater vulnerability index for decision maker in agricultural area. Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing, 42(4), 777–788.
Neshat, A., Pradhan, B., Pirasteh, S., & Shafri, H. Z. M. (2014b). Estimating groundwater vulnerability to pollution using a modified DRASTIC model in the Kerman agricultural area, Iran. Environmental Earth Science, 71, 3119–3131.
Nobre, R. C., Rotunno, M., Filho, O. C., Mansur, W. J., Nobre, M., & Cosenza, C. (2007). Groundwater vulnerability and risk map** using GIS, modeling and a fuzzy logic tool. Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, 94, 277–292.
Panagopoulos, G. P., Antonakos, A. K., & Lambrakis, N. J. (2006). Optimization of the DRASTIC method for groundwater vulnerability assessment via the use of simple statistical methods and GIS. Hydrology Journal, 14, 894–911.
Pathak, D. R., Hiratsuka, A., Awata, I., & Chen, L. (2009). Groundwater vulnerability assessment in shallow aquifer of Kathmandu Valley using GIS-based DRASTIC model. Environmental Geology, 57, 1569–1578.
Pazand, K., & Fereidoni Sarvestani, J. (2012). Hydrogeochemical investigation in an arid region of Iran (Tabas, Central Iran). Environmental Earth Sciences. doi:10.1007/s12665-012-2162-5.
Pearson, K. (1896). Regression, heredity, and panmixia. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A, 187, 253–318.
Piscopo, G., Pleasure, P., & Sinclair, P. (2001). Groundwater vulnerability map explanatory notes (p. 14). Centre of Natural Resources, New South Wales (NSW) Department of Land and Water Conservation: Lachlan Catchment.
Prasad, R. K., Singh, V. S., Krishnamacharyulu, S. K. G., & Banerjee, P. (2011). Application of drastic model and GIS: for assessing vulnerability in hard rock granitic aquifer. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 176, 143–155.
Qian, H., Li, P., Howard, K. W. F., Yang, C., & Zhang, X. (2012). Assessment of groundwater vulnerability in the Yinchuan Plain, Northwest China using OREADIC. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 184, 3613–3628.
Rahman, A. (2007). A GIS based DRASTIC model for assessing groundwater vulnerability in shallow aquifer in Aligarh, India. Applied Geography, 28, 32–53.
Ravbar, N., & Goldscheider, N. (2007). Proposed methodology of vulnerability and contamination risk map** for the protection of karst aquifers in Slovenia. Acta Cardiologica, 36(3), 397–411.
Rezaei, F., Safavi, H. R., & Ahmadi, A. (2013). Groundwater vulnerability assessment using fuzzy logic: a case study in the Zayandehrood Aquifers, Iran. Environmental Management, 51, 267–277.
Rupert, M.G. (1999). Improvements to the DRASTIC groundwater vulnerability map** method. U. S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet FS-066-99, USGS, Reston, VA., USA.
Sadat-Noori, S. M., Ebrahimi, K., & Liaghat, A. M. (2014). Groundwater quality assessment using the water quality index and GIS in Saveh-Nobaran aquifer, Iran. Environmental Earth Sciences, 71, 3827–3843.
Sadat-Noori, S. M., Ebrahimi, K., Liaghat, A. M., & Hoorfar, A. H. (2013). Comparison of different geostatistical methods to estimate groundwater level at different climatic periods. Water Environment Journal, 27, 10–19.
Saha, D., & Alam, F. (2014). Groundwater vulnerability assessment using DRASTIC and pesticide DRASTIC models in intense agriculture area of the Gangetic plains, India. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 186, 8741–8763.
Saidi, S., Bouri, S., & Ben, H. (2010). Groundwater vulnerability and risk map** of the Hajeb-jelma aquifer (Central Tunisia) using a GIS-based DRASTIC model. Environmental Earth Science, 59, 1579–1588.
Samake, M., Zhonghua, T., Hlaing, W., Kanyamanda, K., & Waheed, O. B. (2011). Groundwater vulnerability assessment in shallow aquifer in Linfen Basin, Shanxi Province, China using DRASTIC model. Journal of Sustainable Development, 4(1).
Report, S.-N. P. W. Q. (2011). Regional water corporation of Markazi Province. Iran Water Resources Management Company, Ministry of Energy, Tehran, Iran: Basic Studies of Water Resources Office.
Secunda, S., Collin, M., & Melloul, A. J. (1998). Groundwater vulnerability assessment using a composite model combining DRASTIC with extensive land use in Israel’s Sharon region. Journal of Environmental Management, 54, 39–57.
Sener, E., Sener, S., & Davraz, A. (2009). Assessment of aquifer vulnerability based on GIS and DRASTIC methods: a case study of the Senirkent-Uluborlu Basin (Isparta, Turkey). Hydrogeology Journal, 17, 2023–2035.
Shahbazi, A., Bahramifar, N., & Smolders, E. (2012). Elevated concentrations of pesticides and PCBs in soils at the Southern Caspian Sea (Iran) are related to land use. Soil and Sediment Contamination, 21, 160–175.
Srinivasamoorthy, K., Vijayaraghavan, K., Vasanthavigar, M., Sarma, V. S., Rajivgandhi, R., Chidambaram, S., Anandhan, P., & Manivannan, R. (2010). Assessment of groundwater vulnerability in Mettur region, Tamilnadu, India Using DRASTIC and GIS Techniques. Arabian Journal of Geosciences. doi:10.1007/s12517-010-0138-x.
Tilahun, K., & Merkel, B. (2010). Assessment of groundwater vulnerability to pollution in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia using DRASTIC. Environmental Earth Sciences, 59, 1485–1496.
Umar, R., Ahmed, I., & Alam, F. (2009). Map** groundwater vulnerable zones using modified DRASTIC approach of an alluvial aquifer in parts of central Ganga plain, Western Uttar Pradesh. Journal of the Geological Society of India, 73, 193–201.
United States Environmental Protection Agency, USEPA, (1985). DRASTIC: a standard system for evaluating groundwater potential using hydrogeological settings. Ada, WA/EPA Series, 1985, p. 163.
USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), (1994). Permeability Key. http://www.mn.nrcs.usda.gov/mo10/mo10guides/permkey. Accessed 1 October 2011.
Valle Junior, R. F., Varandasb, S. G. P., Sanches Fernandesb, L. F., & Pacheco, F. A. L. (2014). Groundwater quality in rural watersheds with environmental land use conflicts. Science of the Total Environment, 15, 812–827.
WHO (2004). Guidelines for drinking water quality: training pack. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO.
Wilcoxon, F. (1945). Individual comparisons by ranking methods. Biometry Bulletin, 1, 80–83.
Worrall, F., & Koplin, D. (2004). Aquifer vulnerability to pesticide pollution combining soil, land-use and aquifer properties with molecular descriptors. Journal of Hydrology, 293, 191–204.
Yin, L., Zhang, E., Wang, X., Wenninger, J., Dong, J., Guo, L., & Huang, J. (2013). A GIS-based DRASTIC model for assessing groundwater vulnerability in the Ordos Plateau, China. Environmental Earth Sciences, 69, 171–185.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge University of Tehran, Iran and the Markazi Province Regional Water Authority, Iran, for financially supporting this research project.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sadat-Noori, M., Ebrahimi, K. Groundwater vulnerability assessment in agricultural areas using a modified DRASTIC model. Environ Monit Assess 188, 19 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-015-4915-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-015-4915-6