The construction of synthetic maps of groundwater vulnerability on the example of catchment area of Žilůvky stream

Abstract

The term “vulnerability of groundwater to contamination” was introduced by French hydrogeologist J. Margat in the late 1960s. The idea of describing the degree of vulnerability of groundwater to contaminants as a function of hydrogeological conditions by means of maps was conceived to show that the protection provided by the natural environment varies at different locations. Groundwater vulnerability maps belong to category of special-purpose environmental maps and introduce one of the possible tool to solve groundwater protection. The synthetic map of relevant catchment area of Žilůvky stream was composed in the program ArcGIS as a intersection between 4 partial maps: the map of soil character according to infiltration capability, the map of geological structure according to permeability, the map of unsaturated zone potency and the map of karst phenomens, springs and boreholes localization. The final map was presented in 4 variants A – D according to meaning of layers which have the influence on groundwater vulnerability.

Keywords

• groundwater vulnerability
• soil permeability
• spring
• borehole
• karst