In addition, scenario analysis of landuse, climate and nutrient input changes can help identifying medium or long term critical locations in the face of environmental changes. DRASTIC method Aller et al., 1985, 1987). (1) process-based simulation models (e.g.They can be grouped into methods based on the use of: Nowadays it is recognized that strategies that protect groundwater must be based upon reliable forecasts of the risk of groundwater pollution under a variety of possible future climate, socioeconomic and land use scenarios ( Twarakavi and Kaluarachchi, 2006).įor that reason, various approaches have been applied to estimate the groundwater vulnerability and to predict nitrate concentration in groundwater. However, assessing the effectiveness of the adopted action programs remain complex because the limited number of monitoring points, not uniformly distributed all over Europe, constrains the possibility to extrapolate information in non-monitored areas. Groundwater contamination depending on natural and anthropogenic activities (source: ) Contamination of ground water can result in poor drinking water quality, loss of drinking water supply, degraded surface water systems, leading to higher costs for cleanup or alternative water supplies, and to potential health problems ( van Grinsven et al., 2010). Human activities have altered significantly the nitrogen cycle resulting in high emission of nitrate to the environment leading to significant water quality degradation, loss of biodiversity and intensification of the eutrophication phenomena. al., 2007).Īs well, point sources, including septic tanks, broken sewage systems, contribute to nitrate pollution in the groundwater ( MacQuarrie et al., 2001). The extensive use of fertilizers is considered to be a main source, and in particular diffuse source, of nitrate that leaches to groundwater ( Almasri et. Many studies showed the direct link between agriculture and nitrate concentration in groundwater ( Dunn et al., 2005 Liu et al., 2005 Hansen et al., 2012). Nitrate is soluble and has a high mobility and potential for loss from the unsatured zone by leaching ( Almasri et. In particular, agriculture is the largest contributor of nitrogen pollution to groundwater. Climate and landuse change, and population growth are posing a variety of threats to groundwater thereby impacting both water quantity and quality. Groundwater thus plays a key role in sustaining human life and activities, however it is put at risk by overexploitation and water quality degradation.
Share of groundwater abstraction in human public supply for year 2014 or closest year (from EUROSTAT)