Assessing Groundwater Vulnerability

to Contamination in Relation to
Twin-Metals Mine Sites

Created by Leah Mohn

26 April 2017
University of Minnesota - Duluth
mohnx062@d.umn.edu
The DRASTIC modeling was used to conduct this study. This study included 7 different hydrogeology
components (which are listed). The components were given weights depending on their importance to
the model (Table 1). The DRASTIC Index equation was imputed into raster calculator to produce a map
of groundwater vulnerable to contamination (Equation 1).

D: Depth of ground water - the depth from the ground surface to the water table
R: Net recharge - total quantity of water which is applied to the ground surface and infiltrates to reach
aquifers
A: Aquifer media - consolidated or unconsolidated rock which serves as an aquifer.
S: Soil media - the uppermost portion of the vadose zone characterized by biological activity
T: General topography or slope - the slope and slope variability of the land surface.
I: Vadose zone - the zone above the water table which is unsaturated or discontinuously saturated
C: Hydraulic conductivity of aquifer - the ability of the aquifer materials to transmit water

Equation 1. Calculates the DRASTIC

Index. Used to produce a map of
groundwater vulnerable to contamination
Table 1. Shows the different weight for each component
in the model.
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