Groundwater Vulnerability and Groundwater Contamination Risk in Karst Area of Southwest China

• Published in: Sustainability 2022-11, Vol.14 (21), p.14483
• Main Authors: Liu, Jingchao, Wu, Jin, Rong, Shaowei, Xiong, Yanna, Teng, Yanguo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aquifers; Climate change; Contamination; Environmental protection; Geology; Groundwater; Groundwater management; Groundwater pollution; Groundwater quality; Human influences; Hydrogeology; Industrial areas; Industrial parks; Industrial plants; Industrial pollution; Karst; Land use; Lithology; Methods; Pollutants; Pollution load; Pollution sources; Quality assessment; Risk levels; Sustainability; Water protection; Water quality; Water, Underground
• ISSN: 2071-1050; 2071-1050
• DOI: 10.3390/su142114483

Groundwater pollution in karst areas is often the result of the interaction of hydrogeological characteristics and human activities. In this study, a chimeric evaluation system of groundwater vulnerability and pollution load was constructed, and the groundwater contamination risk was intuitively displayed using a risk map. The study area is located in Qiannan, a typical karst area in Southwest China. Groundwater vulnerability was mainly calculated using the PLEIK model. Pollution source load evaluation was evaluated using the classification method. The groundwater pollution status was evaluated by the CCME WQI method. The results show that the groundwater vulnerability in the research area was mainly at a medium level. The areas with high pollution load values were mainly distributed in industrial parks and other pollution-source-gathering areas. The results of the water quality evaluation show that the groundwater quality in the study area was generally good. However, the impact of some pollution sources on the surrounding groundwater still cannot be ignored. The results reveal the risk level of groundwater pollution in typical karst areas and provide theoretical support for regional groundwater protection.