A groundwater risk assessment for irrigation purpose based on salinity indicators: applied to southeastern Tunisia

Groundwater resources are increasingly under demand to support human activities and economic development. This naturally clean resource is threatened by human and natural pollutions. Protecting groundwater has become a challenge for both urban and rural communities. This work aims to develop a simple and effective approach to assess the risk of aquifer pollution and the delineation of risk zones. To do so, an aquifer risk index (ARI) was presented as an overall indicator of the risk of groundwater pollution. The ARI is calculated using the groundwater vulnerability index (GVI) and the normalized water quality index (WQI). The multi-linear regression (MLR) model was used to assign weights to each parameter. This model has been applied and validated in the Koutine area of southern Tunisia. The results revealed that the groundwater in the study area is characterized by low and moderate risk. Fifty-six percent (56%) of the total study area presents a low risk. The remaining 44% of the study area is classified as medium risk, primarily in the Wadi and Lowland plains. ARI considers the intrinsic characteristics of the aquifer and groundwater quality when assessing the risk of pollution. The approach developed for assessing groundwater risks is simple to implement, realistic, and efficient. AVI is a parametric approach that uses aquifer data without losing information. This method can assist academics and groundwater resource managers in delineating risk areas to protect groundwater resources from pollution.