ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Geostatistical Approach to Assessment of Spatial
Distribution of Groundwater Quality
B. Nas
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Department of Environmental Engineering, Selcuk University, 42079, Konya, Turkey
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2009;18(6):1073-1082
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ABSTRACT
A large portion of the water requirements of Konya, Turkey, is supplied by 200 groundwater wells. The
quality of this groundwater was determined by taking samples from 156 of the wells within a study area of
427.5 km2. The locations of the wells were obtained using a hand-held global positioning system (GPS) receiver.
The purposes of this investigation were to provide an overview of current groundwater quality and to determine
spatial distribution of groundwater quality parameters in the study area. The geostatistical analyst extension
module of ArcGIS was used for exploratory data analysis, semivariogram model selection, cross-validation,
and development of a distribution pattern of groundwater quality parameters such as pH, electrical conductivity,
Cl-, SO4-2, hardness, and NO3- concentrations. The ordinary Kriging (OK) method was used to produce
the spatial patterns of water quality over the study area. The result of OK interpolation showed that higher
chloride, sulfate, conductivity and hardness concentrations are clearly situated in the northeast of the study
area. Concentrations of groundwater quality parameters were compared with World Health Organization, U.S.
Environment Protection Agency, and Turkish Standards Institute drinking water guidelines.