Investigating Groundwater Quality Parameters Using GIS and Geostatistics (Case Study: Shahr-Babak Plain Aquifer)

Groundwater is one of the most important water resources in arid and semi-arid regions. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of interpolation methods for predicting the spatial distribution of some groundwater quality indices for Shahr-Babak Plain in Kerman Province. First of all, the water quality data of about 56 wells in the period 2011-2012 were selected; based on their accuracy and scattering in 2011-2012; then the missing data were reconstructed and controlled. According to the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, data were not normally distributed, so the logarithms of them were used. The results showed that for these water quality parameters, the best variogram models were the Spherical, Linear and Exponential ones. The variability of the data was investigated using different interpolation methods such as Kriging, Cokriging and IDW with powers 1 to 3. The results showed that the geostatistical methods had remarkable superiorities to the deterministic methods so that the Kriging method was the best one. For the parameters TDS, EC and Cl the lowest values of RMSE were calculated using Ordinary Kriging with the Spherical model, which were 844.6, 1214 and 10.61, respectively. Then the zoning maps of these three elements were drawn with the most appropriate method of ArcGIS software. The spatial and temporal variations of the most parameters were investigated and their correlations with the decreasing trends were shown during the period of the study. Also,the suitability of the plain aquifer water for agricultural and drinking uses was investigated with the Wilcox and Schoeller Standards. Wilcox standard results indicated that the water qualities of 30 wells were in unsuitable conditions, and the results of Schoeller diagram confirmed that in 49.3 percent of the plain area the groundwater was undirinkable.