A new four-step hierarchy method for combined assessment of groundwater quality and pollution

Abstract

A new four-step hierarchy method was constructed and applied to evaluate the groundwater quality and pollution of the Dagujia River Basin. The assessment index system is divided into four types: field test indices, common inorganic chemical indices, inorganic toxicology indices, and trace organic indices. Background values of common inorganic chemical indices and inorganic toxicology indices were estimated with the cumulative-probability curve method, and the results showed that the background values of Mg (51.1 mg L), total hardness (TH) (509.4 mg L), and NO (182.4 mg L) are all higher than the corresponding grade III values of Quality Standard for Groundwater, indicating that they were poor indicators and therefore were not included in the groundwater quality assessment. The quality assessment results displayed that the field test indices were mainly classified as grade II, accounting for 60.87% of wells sampled. The indices of common inorganic chemical and inorganic toxicology were both mostly in the range of grade III, whereas the trace organic indices were predominantly classified as grade I. The variabilities and excess ratios of the indices were also calculated and evaluated. Spatial distributions showed that the groundwater with poor quality indices was mainly located in the northeast of the basin, which was well-connected with seawater intrusion. Additionally, the pollution assessment revealed that groundwater in well 44 was classified as "moderately polluted," wells 5 and 8 were "lightly polluted," and other wells were classified as "unpolluted."

Hydrochemical Characteristics and Groundwater Quality Assessment in the Diluvial Fan of Gaoqiao, Emei Mountain, China

“…Methods for groundwater quality and pollution assessment were applied extensively [5]; however, no firmly established assessment method has been accepted and applied extensively [6]. The "grey water footprint" (GWF) was used to assess the sustainability of pollution produced by human activities and to measure the amount of water required to assimilate a polluting load produced from anthropic activity [7].…”

“…It is difficult to determine a unified evaluation model due to the uncertainty, fuzziness, and greyness characteristics of groundwater pollution [6]. Set pair analysis (SPA) is a method known as connection mathematics and used to tackle the interaction between systematic certainty and uncertainty.…”

“…It is superior to the uncertainties since it is not necessary to distinguish the information definitely and has obvious advantages in dealing with fuzzy, random, intermediate, and incomplete information. It has been applied in the evaluation of impacts of groundwater quality assessment [6], water resources management problems [26][27][28], and other groundwater analysis issues.…”

“…The historical chemistry of groundwater provides us with a datum against which changes in chemical composition caused by pollution can be measured. Historical water quality data are one of the best and most direct approaches to determine the background concentration of a contaminant [6]. On the basis of hydrogeochemical components analysis in 2016 compared with that in 1995, the five-element connection number SPA method was proposed and applied to analyze and evaluate the groundwater quality of the Gaoqiao diluvial fan under the influence of human activities in this work.…”

Evaluation of Groundwater Quality, Health Risk Assessment and Prediction of Water Quality Evolution in Water Source Area of Zhangji

“…If the water quality of water sources can be objectively and accurately evaluated, it can provide an important decision-making basis for the environmental management of water sources. To understand the water quality situation of water sources and ensure the safety of regional drinking water, the water environment of water sources must be scientifically evaluated [19]. Health risk assessment of drinking water sources can link the contamination of drinking water sources to human health [20].…”