A decision tree tool supporting the assessment of groundwater vulnerability.

The Water Framework Directive and Groundwater Directive aim at preserving and improving the groundwater status. Groundwater bodies are classified as being or not being at risk of failing to meet these objectives. Those at risk are subject to more precise risk assessment where the concept of vulnerability is considered in the pathway part of the source–pathway–receptor scheme. However, no further details on implementation strategies are provided. In order to support groundwater managers and decision-makers in implementation of programs protecting groundwater, a systematic operational approach based on a decision tree is proposed, which leads the user through the stages of vulnerability assessment. First, a problem has to be formulated related to a threatening of the quantitative and/or qualitative status of a groundwater body. Next, the stated problem needs to be related to the intrinsic or specific vulnerability. Methods used for the intrinsic vulnerability assessment belong to two categories: subjective rating and objective methods. Method selection depends primarily on: data availability, knowledge and available resources. A key issue is the lag time associated with transport between a source/event of contamination and the water body. This lag time is primarily controlled by the temporal scale of water flow. It provides information about flow processes and at the same time also about timescales required for the implementation of strategies. Effects of any measures taken cannot be observed immediately but at the earliest after these estimated lag times emphasizing the need to also proactively safeguard groundwater resources and preserve their good status

Application of EPIK and KDI methods for identification and evaluation of karst vulnerability at Intervales State Park and surrounding region (Southeastern Brazil)

Between the Guapiara Plateau and the Paranapiacaba Range, Southern Brazil, there are karst systems that are under constant pressure from anthropic advancement of various natures, such as mining of carbonate rocks, forestry, agriculture, and human settlement itself. Karst systems develop differently in both geomorphological compartments. At the Guapiara Plateau the karst is not very expressive with scattered and rare karst features in all carbonate bodies covered by this study. The most cushioned relief, with relatively low hydraulic gradients and the short time of exposure of the carbonate rocks did not allow the full development of a karst system at the plateau. At Paranapiacaba Range, the most rugged relief, associated with high hydraulic gradients, purer carbonates and longer exposure of the carbonate rocks, allows karst features to be more concentrated, and greater development in relation to the plateau. This study presents the karst vulnerability and environmental zonation based on geologic and geomorphologic aspects, using EPIK and KDI methods. At the Guapiara Plateau, the karst vulnerability is low and human settlement is more expressive, with little risk to the system and the people who settled there. At Paranapiacaba Range the presence of karst features is constant and concentrated so the vulnerability is very high, but the presence of protected areas to guarantee the preservation of this type of system and the low occupancy and human interference. This study can contribute to public policies for future land use, minimizing any impacts on the karst region