Groundwater vulnerability assessment using fuzzy logic: a case study in the Zayandehrood aquifers, Iran

Groundwater is an important source of water, especially in arid and semi-arid regions where surface water is scarce. Groundwater pollution in these regions is consequently a major concern, especially as pollution control and removal in these resources are not only expensive but at times impossible. It is, therefore, essential to prevent their contamination in the first place by properly identifying vulnerable zones. One method most commonly used for evaluating groundwater pollution is the DRASTIC method, in which the Boolean logic is used to rank and classify the parameters involved. Problems arise, however, in the application of the Boolean logic. In this paper, the fuzzy logic has been used to avoid the problems. For this purpose, three critical cases of minimum, maximum, and mean values have been considered for the net recharge parameter. The process has been performed on the Zayandehrood river basin aquifers. The fuzzy-DRASTIC vulnerability map thus obtained indicates that the western areas of the basin generally have the maximum pollution potential followed by the areas located in the east. The central parts of the study area are found to have a low pollution potential. Finally, two sensitivity analyses are performed to show the significance of each value of the net recharge parameter in the calculation of vulnerability index.