Pollution risk assessment based on source apportionment in a groundwater resource area, NE China

ABSTRACT

Pollution risk assessment of a groundwater resource area is instrumental in contributing to groundwater protection. This study considered the evaluation results of source apportionment by combining a principal component analysis (PCA) with a factor analysis (FA) to identify potential risk sources. The vulnerability was evaluated using a DRASTIC model as the main pollution pathway, and groundwater quality as a pollution receptor, in order to validate the risk of pollution in a typical groundwater resource area of northeastern China. Results showed that four principal potential pollution sources were point source pollution such as water-rock interaction, dissolution of iron and manganese bearing minerals due to geological processes, non-point source pollution of nitrogen such as agriculture fertilizers, and organic pollution resulting from domestic and industrial wastewater. A “high” and “relatively high” pollution risk occurred mainly at the northwestern and southeastern edges of the region, respectively, with a widely distributed “moderate” pollution risk over the majority of the study area, and a “relatively low” and “low” pollution risk located mainly in the central of the Limin Groundwater Resources area, which showed that the potential pollution sources, especially due to human activity, have significantly changed the distribution of pollution risk in groundwater resource areas.

KEYWORDS:

• groundwater
• pollution risk
• sources apportionment
• groundwater vulnerability
• resource area

Acknowledgment

We are grateful for valuable comments and suggestions given by the editors and the anonymous reviewers.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41402211 and No. 41672228) and the Major Science and Technology Program for Water Pollution Control and Treatment (2014ZX07201-010).