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Evaluation of aquifers vulnerability to contamination in the Yarmouk River basin, Jordan, based on DRASTIC method

تقييم حساسية المياه الجوفية للتلوث في حوض اليرموك الاردني باستخدام طريقة دراستيك

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Abstract

The existing different human activities and planned land uses put the groundwater resources in Jordan at considerable risk. There are evidences suggesting that the quality of groundwater supplies in north Jordan is under threat from a wide variety of point and non-point sources including agricultural, domestic, and industrial. Vulnerability maps are designed to show areas of greatest potential for groundwater contamination on the basis of hydrogeological conditions and human impacts. DRASTIC method incorporates the major geological and hydrogeological factors that affect and control groundwater movement: depth to groundwater (D), net recharge (R), lithology of the aquifer (A), soil texture (S), topography (T), lithology of vadose zone (I), and hydraulic conductivity (C). The main goal of this study is to produce vulnerability maps of groundwater resources in the Yarmouk River basin by applying the DRASTIC method to determine areas where groundwater protection or monitoring is critical. ArcGIS 9.2 was used to create the groundwater vulnerability maps by overlaying the available hydrogeological data. The resulting vulnerability maps were then integrated with lineament and land use maps as additional parameters in the DRASTIC model to assess more accurately the potential risk of groundwater to pollution. The general DRASTIC index indicates that the potential for polluting groundwater is low in the whole basin, whereas the resulting pesticide DRASTIC vulnerability map indicates that about 31% of the basin is classified as having moderate vulnerability, which may be attributed to agricultural activities in the area. Although high nitrate concentrations were found in areas of moderate vulnerability, DRASTIC method did not depict accurately the nitrate distribution in the area.

ملخص

تقييم حساسية المياه الجوفية للتلوث في حوض اليرموك الاردني باستخدام طريقة دراستيك

ان النشاطات البشرية واستخدامات الاراضي تهدد موارد المياه الجوفية في الاردن بشكل واضح. حيث انه يوجد ادله على ان الموارد المائية الجوفية شمال المملكة مهددة بخطر التلوث من المصادر النقطية وغير النقطية مثل الزراعة والصناعة. ان خرائط الحساسية للتلوث تبين المناطق الاكثر عرضة للتلوث اعتمادا على العوامل الهيدروجيولوجية والبشرية. طريقة دراستيك ((DRASTIC المستخدمه في هذه الدراسة تأخذ بعين العوامل الجيولوجية والهيدرولوجية الرئيسية التي تؤثر على حركة المياه الجوفية: عمق المياه الجوفية والتغذية وجيولوجية الخزان الجوفي ونسيج التربة والتضاريس وجيولوجية منطقة التهوية والموصلية الهيدرولوكية.

ان الهدف الرئيس من هذه الدراسة انتاج خريطة تبين حساسية المياه الجوفية للتلوث ضمن منطقة حوض اليرموك لتحديد المناطق التي تحتاج الى حماية او مراقبة. وقد تمت عملية النمذجة باستخدم نظام المعلومات الجغرافي ارك جي اي اس الاصدار 9.2. وتم ايضا اضافة عاملين مهمين لتحسين اداء دراستيك في تحديد مناطق الخطر وهما الظواهر الخطية (lineaments) واستخدامات الاراضي (land use).

لقد اظهرت الخزانات الجوفية الرئيسية في شمال الاردن علامات قليلة على التلوث عندما تم نمذجتها باستخدام طريقة دراستك العامة. بينما كانت الحساسية اعلى عندما اخذت المبيدات الحشرية بعين الاعتبار فقد اظهرت النتائج ان حوالي 31% من مساحة الحوض تقع ضمن الفئة المتوسطة للحساسية وقد يعزي هذا الى النشاطات الزراعية في منطقة الحوض. وعلى الرغم من ان تركيزات عالية للنترات ظهرت ضمن نطاق الحساسية المتوسطة, الا انه وجد ان دراستيك لم يتطابق الى حد كبير مع توزيع النترات في المنطقة كاملة.

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Acknowledgments

The author is greatly indebted to Yarmouk University for funding this research project. Thanks are also due to the Ministry of Water and Irrigation and the Ministry of Agriculture for making necessary data available for the implementation of this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Yarmouk University, Irbid, 21163, Jordan

    Muheeb M. Awawdeh & Rasheed A. Jaradat

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  1. Muheeb M. Awawdeh
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  2. Rasheed A. Jaradat
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Correspondence to Muheeb M. Awawdeh.

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Awawdeh, M.M., Jaradat, R.A. Evaluation of aquifers vulnerability to contamination in the Yarmouk River basin, Jordan, based on DRASTIC method. Arab J Geosci 3, 273–282 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-009-0074-9

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