https://hdl.handle.net/10388/16248

Globally both the quantity and quality of groundwater has been degrading. For cities relying exclusively on groundwater, it is vital to have an accurate and cost-effective tool in order to plan and protect these aquifers. Using geospatial data (land use, digital elevation, soil mapping, Quaternary geology, aquifer/aquitard elevations, historical rainfall, watershed boundaries) in combination with an overlay-index method known as the DRASTIC model, areas of higher groundwater vulnerability that are considered to be more susceptible to contamination were identified. This research presents an approach utilizing a Geographic Information System (GIS) to compute a vulnerability analysis for the Alder Creek watershed west of Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. This study investigates the change in groundwater vulnerability over a 54-year period, analyzing the land use change and its effects on the groundwater quality. This approach was able to conclude that anthropogenic influence over the watershed was not impactful enough to create an increase in groundwater vulnerability over time.

https://hdl.handle.net/10388/16248