Optimization of a Groundwater Monitoring Network for a Sustainable Development of the Maheshwaram Catchment, India 英文参考文献.docVIP

Sustainability 2011, 3, 396-409; doi:10.3390/su3020396 OPEN ACCESS sustainability ISSN 2071-1050 /journal/sustainability Article Optimization of a Groundwater Monitoring Network for a Sustainable Development of the Maheshwaram Catchment, India Aadil Nabi 1, Adrian H. Gallardo 2,* and Shakeel Ahmed 1 1 National Geophysical Research Institute, Indo-French Centre for Groundwater Research, Uppal Road, 500-007, Hyderabad, India; E-Mails: aadilbhat@ (A.N.); shakeelifcgr@ (S.A.) 2 AHS (Australia Hydrogeology Solutions), 2/106 Shepperton Rd, Burswood 6100, Western Australia, Australia * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: E-Mail: adgallardo@yahoo.co.jp; Tel.: +61-8-6161-0086; Fax: +61-8-6161-0086. Received: 1 November 2010; in revised form: 20 January 2011 / Accepted: 28 January 2011 / Published: 15 February 2011 Abstract: Groundwater is one of the most valuable resources for drinking water and irrigation in the Maheshwaram Catchment, Central India, where most of the local population depends on it for agricultural activities. An increasing demand for irrigation and the growing concern about potential water contamination makes imperative the implementation of a systematic groundwater-quality monitoring program in the region. Nonetheless, limited funding and resources emphasize the need to achieve a representative but cost-effective sampling strategy. In this context, field observations were combined with a geostatistical analysis to define an optimized monitoring network able to provide sufficient and non-redundant information on key hydrochemical parameters. A factor analysis was used to evaluate the interrelationship among variables, and permitted to reduce the original dataset into a new configuration of monitoring points still able to capture the spatial variability in the groundwater quality of the basin. The approach is useful to max