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THE potential for groundwater contamination to occur at any given geographic location depends upon a wide range of physical and environmental variables, including soil type, depth to groundwater, and aquifer size. While many sophisticated computer models have been developed for assessing potential groundwater impacts on a site-by-site basis, most models are far too complex to use for impact assessment on a regional or statewide basis ( 6. ) More simple, computer-based approaches, however, can be used for regional assessment of pollution's potential effect on important groundwater resources. One such approach involves the use of a geographic information system (GIS). In general, a GIS is designed to store, process, retrieve, and display spatially referenced data. In situations where complex environmental relationships exist, it has been found that data concerning different aspects of the physical environment can be used more effectively in combination than separately. One of the primary functions of a GIS is the combination and evaluation of disparate data layers for the purpose of providing “new” information. In one recent study, a GIS-based approach to regional groundwater pollution modeling was developed. Most groundwater pollution potential modeling techniques developed to date (1, 2, 3, 4 …
Evans et al. (Thu,) studied this question.