Pesticide DRASTIC Research Articles

Improving groundwater vulnerability assessment in structurally controlled hard rock aquifer: insight from lineament density and land use/land cover pattern.

A comprehensive seasonal assessment of groundwater vulnerability was conducted in the weathered hard rock aquifer of the upper Swarnrekha watershed in Ranchi district, India. Lineament density (Ld) and land use/land cover (LULC) were integrated into the conventional DRASTIC and Pesticide DRASTIC (P-DRASTIC) models and were extensively compared with six modified models, viz. DRASTIC-Ld, DRASTIC-Lu, DRASTIC-LdLu, P-DRASTIC-Ld, P-DRASTIC-Lu, and P-DRASTIC-LdLu, to identify the most optimal model for vulnerability mapping in hard rock terrain of the region. Findings were geochemically validated using NO3- concentrations of 68 wells during pre-monsoon (Pre-M) and post-monsoon (Post-M) 2022. Irrespective of the applied model, groundwater vulnerability shows significant seasonal variation, with > 45% of the region classified as high to very high vulnerability in the pre-M, increasing to ̴67% in post-M season, highlighting the importance of seasonal vulnerability assessments. Agriculture and industries' dominant southern region showed higher vulnerability, followed by regions with high Ld and thin weathered zone. Incorporating Ld and LULC parameters into DRASTIC-LdLu and P-DRASTIC-LdLu models increases the 'Very High' vulnerability zones to 17.4% and 17.6% for pre-M and 29.4% and 27.9% for post-M, respectively. Similarly, 'High' vulnerable zones increase from 32.5% and 25% in pre-M to 33.8% and 35.3% in post-M for respective models. Model output comparisons suggest that modified DRASTIC-LdLu and P-DRASTIC-LdLu perform better, with accurate estimations of 83.8% and 89.7% for pre-M and post-M, respectively. However, results of geochemical validation suggest that among all the applied modified models, DRASTIC-LdLu performs best, with accurate estimations of 34.4% and 20.6% for pre-M and post-M, respectively.

Enhancing groundwater vulnerability assessment for improved environmental management: addressing a critical environmental concern

Groundwater serves as a primary water source for various purposes. Therefore, aquifer pollution poses a critical threat to human health and the environment. Identifying the aquifer’s highly vulnerable areas to pollution is necessary to implement appropriate remedial measures, thus ensuring groundwater sustainability. This paper aims to enhance groundwater vulnerability assessment (GWVA) to manage aquifer quality effectively. The study focuses on the El Orjane Aquifer in the Moulouya basin, Morocco, which is facing significant degradation due to olive mill wastewater. Groundwater vulnerability maps (GVMs) were generated using the DRASTIC, Pesticide DRASTIC, SINTACS, and SI methods. To assess the effectiveness of the proposed improvements, 24 piezometers were installed to measure nitrate concentrations, a common indicator of groundwater contamination. This study aimed to enhance GWVA by incorporating new layers, such as land use, and adjusting parameter rates based on a comprehensive sensitivity analysis. The results demonstrate a significant increase in Pearson correlation values (PCV) between the produced GVMs and measured nitrate concentrations. For instance, the PCV for the DRASTIC method improved from 0.42 to 0.75 after adding the land use layer and adjusting parameter rates using the Wilcoxon method. These findings offer valuable insights for accurately assessing groundwater vulnerability in areas with similar hazards and hydrological conditions, particularly in semi-arid and arid regions. They contribute to improving groundwater and environmental management practices, ensuring the long-term sustainability of aquifers.

A modified DRASTIC model for groundwater vulnerability assessment using connecting path and analytic hierarchy process methods.

Groundwater plays a vital role in supporting water for the different needs of domestic, agricultural, and industrial sectors, and its vulnerability assessment to pollution is a valuable tool for establishing protective and preventive management. DRASTIC is a well-known GIS-based model for assessing groundwater vulnerability to pollution, which uses seven parameters including depth-to-water level, net recharge, aquifer media, soil media, topography, the impact of the vadose zone, and hydraulic conductivity. The predefined weights of DRASTIC parameters have made a barrier to its applicability for different regions with different hydroclimatic conditions. To overcome this problem, it has been suggested to apply analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method for modifying the model by adjusting the weights of the parameters. AHP is a widely used method to elicit experts' judgments about different involving parameters through constructing pairwise comparison matrixes (PCMs). Since AHP calculates the weights by performing pairwise comparisons between the parameters, achieving consistent comparisons is difficult when the number of parameters increases. The objective of this research is to modify the DRASTIC model by integrating the connecting path method (CPM) and AHP. The proposed methodology involves asking experts to perform a number of pairwise comparisons between the parameters and then construct an incomplete PCM using the obtained information. To complete the missing values in the PCM, CPM is employed. The CPM is an effective approach that not only estimates missing judgments but also ensures minimal geometric consistency. The proposed method along with DRASTIC and pesticide DRASTIC models is applied to Khoy County, which is located in the northwest part of Iran. The efficiency of the proposed method was further confirmed through the results of the Pearson coefficient test conducted on nitrate concentrations. The test revealed correlation values of 0.47, 0.27, and 0.57 for DRASTIC, pesticide DRASTIC, and modified DRASTIC, respectively. These results demonstrated that the proposed method provides a more precise evaluation of groundwater vulnerability.

A comparative study of groundwater vulnerability methods in a porous aquifer in Greece

Groundwater vulnerability assessment is critical for the effective groundwater management, particularly in areas with significant anthropogenic activities, such as agriculture. In this study, seven different methods, namely, DRASTIC, Pesticide DRASTIC, SINTACS, Nitrate SINTACS, GOD, AVI, and SI, were implemented using Geographical Information System techniques in Nea Moudania aquifer, Chalkidiki, Greece, to evaluate and identify groundwater vulnerability zones. The study area was classified into five categories: very low, low, moderate, high, and very high vulnerability. The southern and south-western parts of the study area had the highest pollution potential; the corresponding potential is lower in the northern part. Furthermore, single-parameter sensitivity analysis has revealed that the vadose zone and the topography were the most influential parameters of the vulnerability indexes, while the hydraulic conductivity exhibited the lowest effective weight. Finally, nitrate concentrations, taken from 23 observation wells, were employed for the validation of the aforementioned seven methods, using the coefficient of determination (R2). Results showed that Pesticide DRASTIC and Nitrate SINTACS were the most accurate and efficient methods for the present study area, which is characterized by intense agricultural activities.

Assessment of groundwater vulnerability for pollution using DRASTIC Index, young alluvial plain, Western Nile Delta, Egypt

Groundwater utilization in agriculture and domestic uses has increased so there is emerging mindfulness for groundwater monitoring pollution. The expense of groundwater observation especially in large areas is costly so geographic information system (GIS)-based DRASTIC model become an absolute necessity to discover the groundwater vulnerable zones to preserve groundwater quality by means of monitoring the vulnerable areas. In this work, generic and pesticide DRASTIC based on geographic information system (GIS) were accomplished. Regarding the generic DRASTIC model, the detected vulnerability classes covering the area are moderate, high, and very high, which represent 28.4%, 58.9%, and 12.7%, respectively. However, in the vulnerability map generated by pesticide DRASTIC model, the results indicated that about 22.4% of the study area has a very high vulnerability to contamination, 61.4% has high vulnerability, and 16.2% has moderate vulnerability.

Evaluation of Groundwater Vulnerability to Contamination in Coimbatore District

Groundwater usage in the world is widely reported to increase because of the uncertainties attached with the availability of surface water. Groundwater resources are looked upon as the alternate source of freshwater on account of its widespread and continuous availability in proximity to the point of use or living place, less vulnerability to contamination and low cost of extraction in both urban and rural area of developed and developing countries of the world. Such a scenario has led to the degradation and depletion of groundwater resources in many parts of the world. The study area, Coimbatore district, is a rapidly urbanizing and industrializing city in the southern part of India which relies upon the groundwater resources for meeting the agricultural, industrial and domestic requirements. In view of this evaluation of groundwater resources and an understanding of the vulnerability of the aquifer to contamination become essential for the effective management of groundwater resources. The vulnerability of the groundwater to contamination is assessed using DRASTIC and Pesticide DRASTIC index in the GIS environment. The study showed that the high vulnerability areas are characterized by shallow water table of less than 4 m, gentle topography, sandy loam soils, thinner vadose zone and underlying geologic formations with well-developed fissures and fractures.

Sensitivity analysis and mapping the potential groundwater vulnerability zones in Birbhum district, India: A comparative approach between vulnerability models

The assessment of groundwater vulnerability is essential especially in developing areas, where agriculture is the main source of the population. In the present study, four different overlay and index method, namely, DRASTIC, modified DRASTIC, pesticide DRASTIC and modified pesticide DRASTIC are implemented with a view to identifying the most appropriate method that predicts the vulnerable zone to groundwater pollution. Sensitivity analysis reveals that net recharge is the most influential parameter of the vulnerability index. Cross comparison of model output shows the highest similarity of 97% is observed between drastic and modified drastic while the maximum difference in models prediction of 49% is observed between modified drastic and pesticide drastic. Reported nitrate concentrations in groundwater are considered for validation of model-generated final output map. The prediction power of the models are assessed using success and prediction rate method and it highlights DRASTIC model as the most suitable model with 89.69% and 84.54% of the area under area under the curve (AUC) for success and prediction rate respectively.

Comparative studies of groundwater vulnerability assessment

Pollution of groundwater is a primary issue because aquifers are susceptible to contamination from land use and anthropogenic impacts. Groundwater susceptibility is intrinsic and specific. Intrinsic vulnerability refers to an aquifer that is susceptible to pollution and to the geological and hydrogeological features. Vulnerability assessment is an essential step in assessing groundwater contamination. This approach provides a visual analysis for helping planners and decision makers to achieve the sustainable management of water resources. Comparative studies are applying different methodologies to result in the basic evaluation of the groundwater vulnerability. Based on the comparison of methods, there are several advantages and disadvantages. SI can be overlaid on DRASTIC and Pesticide DRASTIC to extract the divergence in sensitivity. DRASTIC identifies low susceptibility and underestimates the pollution risk while Pesticide DRASTIC and SI represents better risk and is recommended for the future. SINTACS method generates very high vulnerability zones with surface waters and aquifer interactions. GOD method could be adequate for vulnerability mapping in karstified carbonate aquifers at small–moderate scales, and EPIK method can be used for large scale. GOD method is suitable for designing large area such as land management while DRASTIC has good accuracy and more real use in geoenvironmental detailed studies.

Assessment of Groundwater Vulnerability to Nitrate Based on the Optimised DRASTIC Models in the GIS Environment (Case of Sidi Rached Basin, Algeria)

The DRASTIC model was tested on the Mitidja aquifer to assess vulnerability to nitrate pollution. Vulnerability indexes were obtained from classic DRASTIC (MDC) and pesticide DRASTIC (MDP) coupled with a geographic information system in which the weights of the model’s parameters were calculated using two weighting techniques: analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and single parameter sensitivity analysis (SPSA). The correlations between vulnerability indexes produced by both models and actual nitrate concentration values—measured from 34 system aquifers—show that the best combination is obtained from MDP–AHP (R = 0.72) followed by MDP–SPSA (R = 0.68), MDC–AHP (R = 0.67), MDC–SPSA (R =0.65), MDP (R = 0.64) and lastly MDC (R = 0.60). Pesticide DRASTIC/Analytic hierarchy Process (MDP–AHP) may be recommended as the best model for this case study. This result is important for the spatial analysis of nitrate pollution and will contribute to better management of intensive agricultural plans.

Localization of Groundwater Vulnerability Assessment Using Catastrophe Theory

Groundwater vulnerability is assessed by the DRASTIC method, which is more popular among the alternatives available. The challenge taken on board is to treat its inherent subjectivity in estimating the values of the embedded weights as recommended by USEPA for all aquifers. This paper uses a catastrophe based multi-objective evaluation system and applies it to the DRASTIC method to avoid undue preferences by decision maker. Thus, catastrophe fuzzy membership functions are used to treat the dependency of state variables on control parameters and thereby to determine the weights embedded in DRASTIC parameters. The proposed method estimates the weights of DRASTIC parameters with respect to local condition of study area. The Maragheh-Bonab aquifer in Iran is under threat by agricultural and industrial activities and therefore its vulnerability is assessed by the proposed method as well as by the general and pesticide DRASTIC methods. Comparison of results with the special distribution of nitrate-N (NO3-N) shows that the improved DRASTIC has a higher correlation index with respect to the general and pesticide DRASTIC methods. Also in seeking more reliability, the addition of new parameters is possible in the proposed method.

A combined methodology to assess the intrinsic vulnerability of aquifers to pollution from agrochemicals

The groundwater vulnerability indices are valuable tools for the development of agrochemicals management strategies based on environmental/agricultural policies. The groundwater vulnerability methods of LOS, SINTACS, DRASTIC, Pesticide DRASTIC, GOD and AVI were applied for the agricultural fields of Sarigkiol basin (Northern Greece). The results of the aforementioned methods were examined and discussed in order to show how the dissimilarities in the vulnerability assessment approaches may become an advantage. The results of the methods were used to propose a combined conceptual approach which adds another two dimensions (depth and time) in the current two-dimensional vulnerability mapping (longitude, latitude) procedures. The LOS method provided information about the intrinsic vulnerability of the topsoil (30 cm) to water (+conservative pollutants) and nitrogen losses, and the AVI method described the vulnerability of the unsaturated zone to allow pollutants to reach the aquifer while the aquifer vulnerability was analysed using SINTACS, DRASTIC, Pesticide DRASTIC and GOD. In this study, the results of the SINTACS method were found more accurate to describe the local aquifer conditions. The final conceptual approach provided a stratified vulnerability (dimension of depth) of the overall hydrogeologic system using LOS for the topsoil, AVI for unsaturated zone and SINTACS for the aquifer. The dimension of time was introduced by the LOS and AVI methods, which provide quantitative results in time. The use of LOS method also highlighted the basic limitation of the other methods to describe the potential contribution to pollution of areas (especially upland areas) which are out of the aquifer boundaries.

Assessment of groundwater contamination risk in an agricultural area in north Italy

In the present study a specific approach is followed, considering the Pesticide DRASTIC and Susceptibility index (SI) methods and a GIS framework, to assess groundwater vulnerability in the agricultural area of Albenga, in north Italy. The results indicate “high” to “very high” vulnerability to groundwater contamination along the coastline and the middle part of the Albenga plain, for almost 49% and 56% of the total study area for Pesticide DRASTIC and SI methods, respectively. These sensitive regions depict characteristics such as shallow depth to groundwater, extensive deposits of alluvial silty clays, flat topography and intensive agricultural activities. The distribution of nitrates concentration in groundwater in the study area is slightly better correlated with the SI (0.728) compared to Pesticide DRASTIC (0.693), thus indicating that both methods are characterized by quite good accuracy. Sensitivity analysis was also performed to acknowledge statistical uncertainty in the estimation of each parameter used, assess its impact and thus identify the most critical parameters that require further investigation in the future. Depth to water is the parameter that exhibited the largest impact on the Pesticide DRASTIC vulnerability index followed by the impact of the vadose zone and topography. On the other hand, the SI method is more sensitive to the removal of the topography parameter followed by the aquifer media and the depth to water parameters.

Cross comparison of five popular groundwater pollution vulnerability index approaches

Summary Identification of a suitable overlay and index method to map vulnerable zones for pollution in weathered rock aquifers was carried out in this study. DRASTIC and four models derived from it, namely Pesticide DRASTIC, modified DRASTIC, modified Pesticide DRASTIC and Susceptibility Index (SI) were compared by applying them to a weathered rock aquifer in southern India. The results were validated with the measured geochemical data. This study also introduces the use of temporal variation in the groundwater level and nitrate concentration in groundwater as input and for validation respectively to obtain more reliable and meaningful results. Sensitivity analysis of the vulnerability index maps highlight the importance of one parameter over another for a given hydrogeological setting, which will help to plan the field investigations based on the most or the least influential parameter. It is recommended to use modified Pesticide DRASTIC for weathered rock regions with irrigation practises and shallow aquifers (

GIS Applied to the Mapping of Land Use, Land Cover and Vulnerability in the Outcrop Zone of the Guarani Aquifer System

This study presents the vulnerability mapping of Guarani Aquifer System (GAS) in the municipality of Ribeirão Bonito, the central region of the state of São Paulo, through the application of Pesticide DRASTIC index assigned to the land use and land cover (LULC). The principal mapped activities confirm the agricultural potential in the municipality, justifying the implementation of Pesticide DRASTIC index. Based in the use of GIS, the seven spatial parameters were considered in the vulnerability mapping (Depth to water table, net Recharge, Aquifer media, Soil media, Topography, Impact of vadose zone, and hydraulic Conductivity). The results indicate a large presence of areas with high vulnerability, corresponding to 60.3% of the city. All potentially polluted lands showed more than half of their areas in high or moderate vulnerability region. This paper is an important tool of land use/land cover mapping in GAS recharge areas, highlighting the need of studies that consider the processes occurring in the surface and underground for the analysis of aquifers vulnerability.

Groundwater vulnerability assessment using DRASTIC and Pesticide DRASTIC models in intense agriculture area of the Gangetic plains, India.

Delineating areas susceptible to contamination from anthropogenic sources form an important component of sustainable management of groundwater resources. The present research aims at estimating vulnerability of groundwater by application of DRASTIC and Pesticide DRASTIC models in the southern part of the Gangetic plains in the state of Bihar. The DRASTIC and Pesticide DRASTIC models have considered seven parameters viz. depth to water level, net recharge, aquifer material, soil material, topography, impact of vadose zone and hydraulic conductivity. A third model, Pesticide DRASTIC LU has been adopted by adding land use as an additional parameter, to assess its impact on vulnerability zonation. The DRASTIC model indicated two vulnerable categories, moderate and high, while the Pesticide DRASTIC model revealed moderate, high and very high vulnerable categories. Out of the parameters used, depth to water level affected the vulnerability most. The parameter caused least impact was topography in DRASTIC, while in case of Pesticide DRASTIC and Pesticide DRASTIC LU models, the parameter was hydraulic conductivity. A linear regression between groundwater NO3 concentrations and the vulnerability zonation revealed better correlation for Pesticide DRASTIC model, emphasising the effectiveness of the model in assessing groundwater vulnerability in the study region. Considering all three models, the most vulnerable areas were found to be concentrated mainly in two zones, (i) in the south-western part along Ekangarsarai-Islampur patch and (ii) around Biharsharif-Nagarnausa area in the central part. Both zones were characterised by intensive vegetable cultivation with urban areas in between.

GIS-based DRASTIC, Pesticide DRASTIC and the Susceptibility Index (SI): comparative study for evaluation of pollution potential in the Nabeul-Hammamet shallow aquifer, Tunisia

Three vulnerability index models were applied to assess the pollution potential of Nabeul-Hammamet shallow aquifer, Tunisia: DRASTIC, Pesticide DRASTIC and the Susceptibility Index (SI). An output map layer of each one was obtained using a geographic information system (GIS). The SI layer was overlain with DRASTIC and Pesticide DRASTIC and the percentage areas of agreement and divergence in vulnerability categories were extracted. DRASTIC results suggest the aquifer has mostly low vulnerability. Pesticide DRASTIC and SI identify three vulnerability categories (low, moderate, high) in the aquifer. Published data on current chemical groundwater composition indicate that parts of the aquifer are highly contaminated, revealing that DRASTIC underestimates the risk of pollution; Pesticide DRASTIC and SI reflect this risk better. Agreement in vulnerability categories between the two last models is found for 64 % of the aquifer area. To help manage land-use allocation and prevent Nabeul-Hammamet-aquifer contamination, DRASTIC is not recommended. Pesticide DRASTIC and SI are recommended but for slightly different applications. SI helps in the monitoring of current vulnerable areas and, thus, in contamination prevention. Pesticide DRASTIC could better intervene as a criterion in a multi-criteria analysis to select the best sites for specific on-the-ground practice or future land use.

Evaluation of the Groundwater Vulnerability to Pollution Using an Intrinsic and a Specific Method in a GIS Environment: Application to the Plain of Sidi Bouzid (Central Tunisia)

The protection of groundwater is highly required in regions with arid and semi-arid climate like Sidi Bouzid Aquifer. Vulnerability mapping is considered as a fundamental aspect of sustainable groundwater management especially in overexploited and threatens aquifers. To evaluate the vulnerability to pollution of this aquifer, two intrinsic vulnerability methods were chosen: the generic DRASTIC and the pesticide DRASTIC methods, and a specific one which is the susceptibility index (SI) method. The results show a clear degradation of the water quality throughout the aquifer. The validity of these methods in the phreatic aquifer was tested by a comparison between nitrate concentration and distribution of the vulnerability classes in the study area. This comparison has proved that the SI method is the most valid method. This is due to the introduction of the land use parameter.

Assessment of groundwater vulnerability to nonpoint source pollution in a Mediterranean coastal zone (Mersin, Turkey) under conflicting land use practices

Groundwater resources of the Tarsus coastal plain (Mersin, Turkey) are being exploited heavily for a variety of purposes and they are under a serious threat from nonpoint source pollution from the conflicting land use practices and saltwater intrusion due to overpumping. In this study, vulnerability of groundwater to nonpoint source pollution was assessed using GIS techniques and employing both Generic and Pesticide DRASTIC models. Calculated vulnerability indices ranged between 68–206 and 69–236 for Generic and Pesticide DRASTIC, respectively. Areas lying between “moderately high” to “high” vulnerability categories extend along the coastline in areas covered by the recent Eolian sand dunes where saltwater intrusion is prevalent. The “low” vulnerability category is restricted to a small portion of the area in the NW, and it is represented by poorly drained soils with topographic gradients above 18%. A sizeable portion of the area was classified into “moderately low” to “moderate” vulnerability category, which is typified by low topographic gradients (<2%) and fairly uniform distributions of hydraulic conductivity, net recharge and depth to water table. The validation of the DRASTIC models was accomplished through pairwise comparison of DRASTIC vulnerability maps (using Pearson's r correlation coefficient) with a total of 18 raster layers representing original DRASTIC input data, land use/land cover (LULC) features, and groundwater Cl− and NO3− data. Results from the correlation analysis indicate a significant association between high groundwater NO3− concentrations and distances from certain LULC types, including open-field farms, citrus orchards, industrial complexes, and residential buildings.

Evaluation of aquifers vulnerability to contamination in the Yarmouk River basin, Jordan, based on DRASTIC method

The existing different human activities and planned land uses put the groundwater resources in Jordan at considerable risk. There are evidences suggesting that the quality of groundwater supplies in north Jordan is under threat from a wide variety of point and non-point sources including agricultural, domestic, and industrial. Vulnerability maps are designed to show areas of greatest potential for groundwater contamination on the basis of hydrogeological conditions and human impacts. DRASTIC method incorporates the major geological and hydrogeological factors that affect and control groundwater movement: depth to groundwater (D), net recharge (R), lithology of the aquifer (A), soil texture (S), topography (T), lithology of vadose zone (I), and hydraulic conductivity (C). The main goal of this study is to produce vulnerability maps of groundwater resources in the Yarmouk River basin by applying the DRASTIC method to determine areas where groundwater protection or monitoring is critical. ArcGIS 9.2 was used to create the groundwater vulnerability maps by overlaying the available hydrogeological data. The resulting vulnerability maps were then integrated with lineament and land use maps as additional parameters in the DRASTIC model to assess more accurately the potential risk of groundwater to pollution. The general DRASTIC index indicates that the potential for polluting groundwater is low in the whole basin, whereas the resulting pesticide DRASTIC vulnerability map indicates that about 31% of the basin is classified as having moderate vulnerability, which may be attributed to agricultural activities in the area. Although high nitrate concentrations were found in areas of moderate vulnerability, DRASTIC method did not depict accurately the nitrate distribution in the area.

Using Generic and Pesticide DRASTIC GIS-based models for vulnerability assessment of the Quaternary aquifer at Sohag, Egypt

Groundwater resources in the Sohag area, Egypt are currently threatened by contamination from municipal and industrial activities, and agricultural pesticides. To cope with the growing population, there has been development in the desert zone on both sides of the Nile Valley including agricultural investment areas, wastewater disposal sites, new urban areas, and industry. Use of agrochemicals in the old cultivated and newly reclaimed lands and wastewater disposal sites in the study area represent the most hazardous contamination sources. Prevention of contamination and management of the Quaternary aquifer is urgently needed. To address vulnerability assessment of the Quaternary aquifer, the Generic and Pesticide DRASTIC GIS-based models have been used. The Generic DRASTIC index ranged between 94 and 189, and the Pesticide DRASTIC index ranged between 94 and 226. The results showed that 83% of the Quaternary aquifer is characterized by the high and very high vulnerability classes to municipal, industrial and agricultural pesticides contamination. It was found that nearly all the development projects are located in the very high vulnerability class areas. Management alternatives for the Quaternary aquifer may be improved by application of these models, allowing sensitive groundwater sources to be protected for continuing use in the future.