Groundwater contamination risk assessment based on intrinsic vulnerability, pollution source assessment, and groundwater function zoning

Assessing the risk of groundwater contamination is becoming increasingly important as the quality and availability of groundwater affect the quality of life. Most of the existing risk assessment methods consider only the basic pollution processes based on load risk and aquifer vulnerability assessments. This study describes a methodology for assessing groundwater contamination risk that combines the inherent vulnerability, pollution sources, and groundwater function zoning. In this article, we developed a simple groundwater pollution risk index method that can be easily applied in many developing countries. Our results indicate that a vulnerability assessment alone is not sufficient for groundwater contamination risk assessment. Sensitivity analyses indicated that the net recharge of aquifers was found to be more effective in assessing aquifer vulnerability. Using the plain in Beijing, China, as an example, thematic maps of the three factors (inherent vulnerability, pollution sources, and groundwater function zoning) were generated. This simple groundwater contamination risk assessment method is best suited for comparative assessment of a large number of sources at a regional scale because of its low cost and operability. Finally, the groundwater contamination risk grade in each district of Beijing was determined by superimposing the district boundaries on these maps.