HR: 1340h
AN: H33D-1619    [Abstracts]
TI: A New Vulnerability Assessment Approach for Surface Water and Groundwater
AU: * Holt, R M
EM: rmholt@olemiss.edu
AF: University of Mississippi, Department of Geology and Geological Engineering 118 Carrier Hall, University, MS 38677, United States
AU: Pickens, J
EM: jpickens@intera.com
AF: INTERA, Inc., 1812 Centre Creek Dr., Suite 300, Austin, TX 78754, United States
AU: Jones, T
EM: tjones@intera.com
AF: INTERA, Inc., 1812 Centre Creek Dr., Suite 300, Austin, TX 78754, United States
AU: Kuszmaul, J S
EM: kuszmaul@olemiss.edu
AF: University of Mississippi, Department of Geology and Geological Engineering 118 Carrier Hall, University, MS 38677, United States
AU: Phillips, P
EM: Pat_Phillips@deq.state.ms.us
AF: Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Land and Water Resources P.O. Box 10631, Jackson, MS 39289, United States
AU: Holtz, T
EM: tholtz@intera.com
AF: INTERA, Inc., 1812 Centre Creek Dr., Suite 300, Austin, TX 78754, United States
AU: Gunter, B
EM: bjgunter@olemiss.edu
AF: University of Mississippi, Department of Geology and Geological Engineering 118 Carrier Hall, University, MS 38677, United States
AB: As part of a state-wide effort to characterize the vulnerability of Mississippi's surface water and groundwater resources, we are developing a new set of vulnerability assessment tools. Unlike previous vulnerability assessment models (e.g., DRASTIC and WRASTIC), we separately consider three metrics for (1) intrinsic and (2) extrinsic sources of vulnerability and (3) consequences. Intrinsic vulnerability is defined as the vulnerability related to water resource characteristics (e.g., aquifer hydraulic properties, watershed topography, etc.), while extrinsic vulnerability is due to external features (e.g., number of abandoned wells, USTs, etc.). The consequence metric considers toxicity and location-specific human, environmental, and economic consequences. Each of the three metrics is normalized between 0 and 1, and the final vulnerability (risk) assessed as the product of vulnerability, susceptibility, and consequence. Intrinsic vulnerability is determined from the travel/residence time from a point on the land surface to surface water bodies or, in the case of groundwater, potential receptors. Unlike previous vulnerability assessment methods, our intrinsic vulnerability method focuses on assessment of relative travel/residence time and includes effects related to sorption, decay, and attenuation. Extrinsic vulnerability can be approached in two ways. In the first, a general extrinsic vulnerability is determined using a normalized indexing factor based on expert opinion and GIS-based density calculations for extrinsic sources of vulnerability (e.g., transportation corridors, industrial facilities, etc.). In the second, contaminant specific scenarios are considered based on local data. The consequence metric is determined using a toxicity-weighted measure of the potential impact on human, environmental, and economic assets. The vulnerability assessment methodology and GIS-based tools are being applied across the state at the hydrologic basin scale.
DE: 1803 Anthropogenic effects (4802, 4902)
DE: 1829 Groundwater hydrology
DE: 1847 Modeling
DE: 1875 Vadose zone
DE: 1879 Watershed
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting