The Basic Principles and Recommendations for the Assessment and Mapping of the Degree of Groundwater Protection against Pollution

Abstract

It is shown that the interaction between subsurface hydrosphere and other environmental components and the possible extent of its pollution through these components can be characterized by the degree of groundwater protection against pollution and can be represented on appropriate maps based on simple model estimates of pollutant movement through the lithosphere serving as a protection zone. The principles and methods used in evaluating and different-scale mapping of groundwater protection degree and their vulnerability with respect to pollutants with different toxicity are discussed.