Drastic: A Standardized System to Evaluate Groundwater Pollution Potential using Hydrogeologic Setting

Abstract DRASTIC is a methodology which allows the pollution potential of any area to be systematically evaluated. The system optimizes the use of existing data and has two major portions: the designation of mappable units, termed hydrogeologic settings, and the superposition of a relative ranking system called DRASTIC. Hydrogeologic settings incorporate the major hydrogeologic factors which are used to infer the potential for to enter groundwater. These factors form the acronym DRASTIC and include depth to water, net recharge, aquifer media, soil media, topography, impact of the vadose zone and hydraulic conductivity of the aquifer. The relative ranking scheme uses a combination of weights and ratings to produce a numerical value, called the DRASTIC Index which helps prioritize areas with respect to pollution potential.