Using geostatistical and deterministic modelling to identify spatial variability of groundwater quality

Abstract

The main portion of water demands of arid regions like Kashan Plain, Iran supply by groundwater wells. This research was conducted to assess the groundwater quality as well as modelling and mapping groundwater quality in the study area using geosatistics and deterministic techniques. Five water quality parameters, including Electrical Conductivity, Sodium Adsorption Ratio, Total Hardness, Total Dissolved Solids and pH, were applied to determine the irrigation and drinking water quality index using the Wilcox diagram and WHO standards. The final map indicated that the groundwater quality increased from north to south of the study area. The areas located in the centre, south and eastern south of the study area had the optimum quality for irrigation and drinking purposes. Furthermore, based on the results of zoning using the Wilcox diagram determined that ground water quality of the study area 22%, 42% and 36% were good, medium and non-suitable, respectively

Keywords

• groundwater quality
• modelling
• geostatistic
• deterministic
• zoning