High Plains Aquifer is one of the most important aquifers in the United States, accounting for one-fourth of total annual freshwater withdrawal, and one-fifth of crop production of some major crops. But the area above this aquifer has not been extensively researched for determining the risk of groundwater pollution. Therefore, this study was undertaken to determine the groundwater pollution potential using DRASTIC model in a Geographic Information System (GIS) environment, ESRI ArcGIS. Instead of difficulty of obtaining data, it was possible to run the DRASTIC model in ArcGIS for this aquifer. The results indicated that large portions of southwestern Texas, central Kansas, eastern Colorado, eastern Wyoming, western and north-western Nebraska were highly vulnerable to groundwater pollution whereas Oklahoma had lowest vulnerability.
Key words: Irrigation; high plains aquifer; Ogallala aquifer; ArcGIS; DRASTIC model; groundwater vulnerability
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