Groundwater vulnerability assessment using SINTACS model and GIS: A case study in Raipur city

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to evaluate groundwater contamination vulnerability in the Raipur region using a Geographic Information System (GIS) based model. Researchers have worked on this method in the past, but none attempted to apply this method to the Raipur region. Various hydrogeological layers of the model i.e., water table depth, unsaturated conditions, soil media, net recharge, topographic slope, aquifer media, and hydraulic conductivity have been weighted as well as classified, integrated into the GIS environment to obtain groundwater contamination vulnerability zones (GVI). The (VI) estimated ranges between 84 to 215. Furthermore, the outcome shows that 5.42% of the region shows very low vulnerability and 14.26% of the region indicates very high vulnerability. Groundwater samples of ten locations were obtained from the delineated groundwater vulnerability zones to validate the model outcomes. The nitrate concentration was observed in the low groundwater vulnerable zone is < 15 mg/l, whereas it ranges from 15-40 mg/l in the moderate groundwater vulnerable zone and more than 40mg/l in the highly vulnerable zone of groundwater. The model approach SINTACS vulnerability index (SVI) is found to be well correlated with the nitrate concentration of the region and is appropriate for GVA of Raipur city. This model approach implemented was therefore found to be efficient for the area’s prevailing hydrogeological settings.