Linking DPSIR Model and Water Quality Indices to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals in Groundwater Resources

The achievement of sustainable development goals in groundwater resources related to water quality issues is a critical question in many regions. This study aims to combine powerful tools for helping stakeholders and policymakers achieve sustainable development goals in groundwater resources of agricultural areas. The DPSIR (Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response) model in combination with the Canadian Council of Ministers of Environment Water Quality Index and Groundwater Directive 2006/118/European Community-Threshold Values was applied using a hydrogeochemical dataset derived from the analysis of groundwater samples collected from 31 monitoring sites in an unconfined alluvial aquifer. Elevated Cl- (up to 423.2 mg L-1), NO3- (up to 180.1 mg L-1) concentration and electrical conductivity (up to 2037 mu S cm(-1)) value are observed for groundwater samples of the study area. The outcome of the One Out-All Out procedure revealed that the groundwater in 42% of the monitored sites is unsuitable for drinking according to the health-based guideline values established by Directive 98/83/European Community. A difficulty to achieve targets under Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 6 in the study area is revealed. The proposed response actions are reported.

Automated summary

This study utilizes powerful tools to analyze the achievement of sustainable development goals related to groundwater resources in agricultural areas, revealing high concentrations of Cl-, NO3-, and electrical conductivity in groundwater samples, as well as the unsuitability for drinking at certain monitoring sites and challenges in achieving Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 6 in the study area.