Assessment of Groundwater Vulnerability to Contamination in the West Bank, Palestine

Assessment of Groundwater Vulnerability to Contamination in the West Bank, Palestine PDF

Qamhieh, Ne'mat Sadeq Abdel Rahman

Supervisor(s)

Mohammad N. Almasri -

Discussion Commity

صفحة

Abstract :

This study assesses the groundwater pollution risk in the West Bank, Palestine. The combined use of DRASTIC model and geographic information system (GIS) was adopted for this purpose. Seven thematic maps of the DRASTIC model were developed in order to asses the vulnerability of groundwater to contamination and these include the depth to water table, recharge, aquifer media, soil media, topography, impact of vadose zone and hydraulic conductivity. The GIS technology was used to create an integrated vulnerability map of the West Bank to demarcate vulnerable zones. The result shows that 90% of the study area is at low risk of pollution while 10% is at moderate risk. This indicates that our groundwater resources are safe. The study demonstrated that GIS technology is an efficient environment for analyses and precise processing of spatial data. The thesis also included a comprehensive literature review regarding the different concepts and approaches for assessing groundwater vulnerability to contamination.

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