Aquifers Sustainability assessment by Integrated Groundwater Footprint Indicator Case Study: East Azerbaijan Province

The Groundwater Footprint Indicator is a useful tool for assessing the sustainable use of groundwater resources and its associated ecosystem services. In this study, the sustainable use of 27 alluvial aquifers in the east of Urmia Lake at northwest of Iran has been investigated by groundwater footprint indicator. In order to integrate quantitative assessment along with the sustainability of water quality for agricultural use, an integrated groundwater footprint indicator based on GIS spatial analysis has been used for assessment. This assessment will assist water sector managers in adopting appropriate policies and measures for the sustainable management of the aquifer system, especially for the Urmia Lake basin, which has faced salting water problems in the adjacent aquifers. In this study, GF / A, iGF / A indices have been used to indicate quantitative and qualitative stability of groundwater. The results show that 20 alluvial aquifers have a GF/A greater than 1 and 7 alluvial aquifers have a GF/A equal 1 and no alluvial aquifers have sustainable use of groundwater resources. Also, 24 alluvial aquifers have iGF/A greater than one and only three alluvial aquifers have iGF/A equal one, indicating that most aquifers are contaminated by saline water intrusion and excessive aquifer withdrawal. As a result of the scenario of a 10% reduction in agricultural consumption, the 14 aquifers shift to a quantity sustainable use state. This scenario also contributes to the improvement of the iGF indicator and shifts the 10 aquifers to a quality sustainable state.