Assessment of Groundwater Vulnerability Index based on DRASTIC Model for Sustainable Management of Ground Water Resources using Remote Sensing Techniques and GIS Approach of Delhi, Northern India

In many of the cities and industrial clusters one of the most rising concerns is pollution of ground water due to industrial and municipal wastes which if once penetrates the system is very difficult to remediate and also in developing countries like India such remediation may practically be impossible. Needless to mention that for sustainable thriving of human race pure and pollution free water is indispensable. Thus, it is important to delineate areas susceptible to contamination from anthropogenic sources for sustainable management of groundwater resources. Vulnerability Assessment of Groundwater is one such approach to secure the quality of the valuable Ground Water resource which is undoubtedly a precious asset. This is achieved by evaluating the weak spots which are at highest risk of easy infiltration and exposure. This in turn provides an excellent opportunity to delineate zones which needs protection in priority to prevent their exploitation before they may be exposed and contaminated to unrepairable level. Preserving the groundwater quality has been a major challenge and the same is addressed by the concept of vulnerability assessment. The assessment of groundwater vulnerability to contamination acts as an effective tool for water resource management. Different approaches are used for estimating groundwater vulnerability. The present research aims at estimating vulnerability index of ground water using DRASTIC model which considers seven parameters viz. depth to water level, net recharge, aquifer material, soil material, topography, impact of vadose zone and aquifer’s hydraulic conductivity out of which depth to water level affected the vulnerability most. DRASTIC Vulnerability estimation method may be visualized as a tool for evaluation of ground water protection and it works by step-by-step systematic analysis of different hydrological and geological parameter that has a potential impact on aquifer pollution.