The main aim of this study was to evaluate the\nvulnerability of groundwater to contamination in the\nvicinity of Ramtha wastewater treatment plant using a\nmodified DRASTIC method in a GIS environment. A\ngroundwater pollution potential map was prepared using\nmodified DRASTIC method by adding lineaments and land\nuse/land cover parameters. The values of the modified\nDRASTIC index were classified into three categories: low,\nmoderate and high. About 36.5 % of the study area is\noccupied by the high vulnerability class, 56.5 % is occupied\nby the moderate vulnerability class and 9 % is occupied\nby the low vulnerability class. Chemical analysis of\nthe water samples collected from wells distributed in the\nstudy area and tapping Umm Rijam aquifer indicated that\nthe nitrate concentration ranges from 20 to 193 mg/L with\nan average 65.5 mg/L. Nitrate exceeded the permissible\nlimits of WHO and Jordanian standards in 69 and 54 % of\nthe NO3\n- samples, respectively. The modified DRASTIC\nmodel was validated using nitrate concentration. Results\nshowed a good match between nitrate concentrations level\nand the groundwater vulnerability classes.
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