Comprehensive assessment of groundwater pollution risk based on HVF model: A case study in Jilin City of northeast China

Abstract

A comprehensive model for groundwater risk assessment was proposed by combining the hazard of contaminated sources (H), groundwater intrinsic vulnerability (V) and groundwater function value (F), and verified in Jilin City of northeast China. This model is characterized by integrating groundwater resource, ecology, and geological environment under the impact of climate change and human activities. The hazard of potential polluted sources was assessed by quantifying the properties and the potential infiltrating load of contaminants. The groundwater intrinsic vulnerability was evaluated by the DRASTIC model. The groundwater function value was assessed by multiplying seventeen indexes with their corresponding weightings. The groundwater pollution risk mapping of Jilin City was generated based on ArcGIS and validated by the level difference method between the risk classification and the pollution classification. The results showed that groundwater has a relatively low possibility of pollution because the area with less than, or equal to, the medium classification of risk accounted for 67.61% of the study area. The hazard harmfulness from the different contaminant sources played the most important role in determining the high groundwater pollution risk areas. Different influencing factors lead to relatively high pollution risk in specific areas. According to the validation of the level difference method, areas correctly identified by groundwater pollution risk mapping accounted for 95.81% of the study area, which is nearly twice as high as that of specific vulnerability mapping. The HVF model proved to be suitable for assessing groundwater pollution risk in Jilin City of northeast China. The groundwater pollution risk mapping can be applied for the effective protection and sustainable supply of groundwater.