Assessment of underground water reservoirs' vulnerability to pollution in the Ghamka basin in Syria
Keywords:
Groundwater Reservoirs, Ghouta Basin, Groundwater Sensitivity Model, Groundwater Pollutants From Sewage, Groundwater Pollutants From Industrial Waste, Groundwater Analysis, Groundwater LevelAbstract
Groundwater protection begins with assessing the vulnerability of groundwater to contamination. For this purpose, a vulnerability map must be created to indicate areas that are more susceptible to pollution based on hydrogeological characteristics and conditions.
The research involves applying four computer methodologies within a Geographic Information System (GIS) environment to study geological, hydrogeological, climatic, land use characteristics, and express them as layers used later in creating a contamination vulnerability map.
Groundwater vulnerability maps are a relatively new scientific technique that emerged in the late 1960s and have been used to support land use plans, decision-making,environmental protection measures, and resource management. These maps are considered a standard for groundwater protection.
This process is closely related to administrative aspects, political issues, and forms the basis for subsequent discoveries. There is no fixed method due to variations in data availability between different areas. Some methods require spatial distribution of over 10 pa rameters and very precise data.
The research is expected to provide various benefits by identifying locations most susceptible to contamination in the groundwater reservoirs in the Ghouta basin, then generalizing the results to similar basins in terms of morphological, climatic, hydrological, and hydrogeological aspects. The model will then be applied to other basins in the Syrian coast, selecting suitable locations for drilling wells away from current sources of pollution.
Scientific results of reference studies have shown that using computer mathematical models within the ArcGIS environment saves a significant amount of effort and time in building an accurate groundwater simulation model. The difficulty lies in collecting the data needed for this model, which ranges from aerial images to field data to various details required by the model. It is built on real field data. This research represents new ideas applied in the field of environmental engineering in Syria, even though it is widely used worldwide. It provides a comprehensive view of pollutant distribution in groundwater, if present. The reality of groundwater in Syria requires management to reduce sources of pollution or treat contaminated water and establish administrative plans for its resources.
Downloads
