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

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Abstract

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.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra “Ardito Desio”, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Luigi Mangiagalli, 34, 20133, Milan, Italy

    M. Bonfanti, M. Masetti & S. Stevenazzi

  2. Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Edile e Ambientale (DICEA), Università degli Studi di Napoli “Federico II”, Piazzale Tecchio 80, Naples, 80125, Italy

    D. Ducci & M. Sellerino

Authors
  1. M. Bonfanti
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  2. D. Ducci
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  3. M. Masetti
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  4. M. Sellerino
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  5. S. Stevenazzi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to D. Ducci.

Additional information

This article is a part of a Topical Collection in Environmental Earth Sciences on “Groundwater Vulnerability,” edited by Dr. Andrzej Witkowski.

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Bonfanti, M., Ducci, D., Masetti, M. et al. Using statistical analyses for improving rating methods for groundwater vulnerability in contamination maps. Environ Earth Sci 75, 1003 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-016-5793-0

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