APPLICATION OF GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION-SYSTEMS TO GROUNDWATER MONITORING NETWORK DESIGN

Effective monitoring configurations for contaminant detection in groun dwater can be designed by analyzing the spatial relationships between candidate sampling sites and aquifer zones susceptible to contaminatio n. Examples of such zones are the domain underlying the contaminant so urce, zones of probable contaminant migration, and areas occupied by w ater supply wells. Geographic information systems (GIS) are well-suite d to performing key groundwater monitoring network design tasks, such as calculating values for distance variables which quantify the proxim ity of candidate sites to zones of high pollution susceptibility, and utilizing these variables to quantify relative monitoring value throug hout a model domain. Through a case study application, this paper outl ines the utility of GIS for detection-based groundwater quality monito ring network design. The results suggest that GIS capabilities for ana lyzing spatially referenced data can enhance the field-applicability o f established methodologies for groundwater, monitoring network design .