TITLE:
A Contribution of GIS Methods to Assess the Aquifer Vulnerability to Contamination: A Case Study of the Calcareous Dorsal (Northern Rif, Morocco)
AUTHORS:
Rabie El Bardai, Kamal Targuisti, Khadija Aluni
KEYWORDS:
GIS, Groundwater, Vulnerability, Karst, EPIK
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Water Resource and Protection,
Vol.7 No.6,
April
13,
2015
ABSTRACT: Karst groundwater constitutes the main resource for drinking water supply
in Chefchaouen region, North Morocco. However, the karstic aquifers are highly
vulnerable to the pollution because of the deforestation which favors the soil
erosion and the landslides. Therefore, the groundwater is loaded with suspended
sediment. The fertilizers disseminated for agriculture can also infiltrate and
concentrate in the saturated zone of the aquifer. In this study, the geographic
information system (GIS) provides an effective tool for groundwater
contamination risk assessment, because it facilitates multicriteria analysis
and updates the models developed. The EPIK model based on GIS uses four
environmental parameters (Epikarst, Protective cover, Infiltration condition
and Karst network development) to evaluate the intrinsic vulnerability of
groundwater contamination potential. Each of these parameters is presented as a
thematic map. After adding all data, the final result provides vulnerability
map according to the protection factor relation based on which the protection
zones’ map is created.