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Volume 2
Journal of Environmental Research
Page 89
JOINT EVENT
July 26-27, 2018 Rome, Italy
&
6
th
Edition of International Conference on
Water Pollution & Sewage Management
4
th
International Conference on
Pollution Control & Sustainable Environment
J Environ Res 2018, Volume: 2
Spatial temporal analysis of groundwater quality: A case study of Islamabad
Syed Muhammad Zubair
and
Aneeqa Abrar
National University of Sciences & Technology, Pakistan
I
slamabad is a planned city of Pakistan. Over the years, due to economic growth it has been a hub for immigrants. Apart from
Rawal and Simly Lakes, most of the city’s water supply demand is met by the groundwater resources. However, urbanization
and industrialization has brought these groundwater resources under high risks of contamination. This study assesses the
groundwater pollution risk in Islamabad. The study demonstrated that GIS technology is an efficient environment for analyses
of spatial data. The combined use of DRASTIC model and GIS was adopted to provide a spatial assessment of groundwater
quality. Seven thematic maps of the DRASTIC model were developed in order to assess the vulnerability of groundwater to
contamination and these include the depth to water table, recharge, aquifer media, soil media, topography, impact of vadose
zone and hydraulic conductivity. The GIS software (ArcGIS) was used to create an integrated vulnerability map of Islamabad
to demarcate vulnerable zones. Temporal monitoring of land cover areas were derived from classified land-cover maps. This
was done to describe the relative degree of natural protection of the groundwater from contamination due to the physical
characteristics of the land and subsurface. Most of the area of Islamabad lies within the moderate vulnerability which means
that the increase in vulnerability from 2003 to 2010 has been from 5% to 8.5%. These results indicate that reforms are required
by the government to protect this groundwater asset. Reforming these policies requires governments to implement far-reaching
institutional change and promote technical innovation.
zubair10@igis.nust.edu.pk