Spatial modeling of groundwater quality based on using Schoeller diagram in GIS base: a case study of Khorramabad, Iran

• Published in: Environmental earth sciences Vol. 77; no. 9; pp. 1 - 12
• Main Authors: Babanezhad, E., Qaderi, F., Salehi Ziri, M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.05.2018; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aquifers; Area; Biogeosciences; Case studies; Drinking water; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Environmental Science and Engineering; Geochemistry; Geographic information systems; Geographical information systems; Geology; Groundwater; Groundwater quality; Hydrology/Water Resources; Information systems; Methods; Modelling; Original Article; Qualitative reasoning; Quality; Quality assessment; Quality control; Satellite navigation systems; Terrestrial Pollution; Water management; Water quality; Water resources; Water resources management; Water supply; Iran; GIS; Schoeller diagram; Water resource; Quality assessment
• ISSN: 1866-6280; 1866-6299
• DOI: 10.1007/s12665-018-7541-0

Regulating the water supply for a specified district needs comprehensive quality information about the nearest aquifer. There are many methods to investigate the water quality, but in most cases, they involve time series study and do not consider space dimension. The application of advanced qualitative assessments such as geographical information systems (GIS) could be a reasonable choice. In addition, the classic Schoeller diagram (CSD) is one of the diverse drinking water assessments in which aquifer quality is distinguished according to major ions concentrations. However, the results of this diagram are limited to one point, and there is no possibility of qualitative classification of the surrounding area. Because of this, in this investigation, a new procedure, called the Schoeller-GIS (S-GIS) approach, is presented in order to apply CSD onto a district through GIS tools. For this project, the quality information of 105 wells in the study area (near Khorramabad, Iran) has been collected, and a quality assessment of the aquifer has been conducted based on both classic and novel approaches. Results indicated that, according to the CSD method, all qualitative parameters of the aquifer except Ca and Mg were located within the Good range, whereas the results of S-GIS approach categorized the study area into Good (55%), Permissible (36%), and Moderately suitable (8%). This indicates that the latest method may be more accurate by about 30% which could lead to more efficient management of water resources.