Groundwater vulnerability assessment of the chalk aquifer in the northern part of France

Abstract

This study explores the groundwater vulnerability of the chalk aquifer (northern part of France) using a well-known overlay and index DRASTIC method for intrinsic scenario and using land use (LU) parameter as additional factor. Different sources have allowed to compile data necessary to map the vulnerability of the aquifer under study, which used to generate the seven parameters of DRASTIC, namely: groundwater Depth, groundwater Recharge, lithology, Soil media, Topography, Impact of the vadose zone and hydraulic Conductivity. Applying the model in ArcGIS 10.2 platform leads to identify three classes of vulnerability: low, medium and high vulnerability. The highest DRASTIC indexes appear in areas where the groundwater depth is low and in more permeable unsaturated zones. The LU has a little effect on the distribution of vulnerability classes: this distribution is marked by the low vulnerability 44% against 6.5 of high vulnerability.

Keywords:

• DRASTIC index
• groundwater
• GIS
• vulnerability

Acknowledgement

This study was supported by the AESN Seine-Normandie “Vulnérabilité des resources en eau(Picardie) project. In addition the research was supported by the ’Institut Polytechnique UniLaSalle, Beauvais, France. We would like thank the anonymous reviewers for reviewing this paper and for helpful and stimulating comments.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the Agence de l’Eau Seine Normandie Vulnérabilité des resources en eau (Picardie) project. In addition, the research was supported by the Institut Polytechnique UniLaSalle, Beauvais, France.