Groundwater vulnerability of Maiella (Italy)

This paper concerns the vulnerability assessment of the Maiella karstic aquifer, by the application of two important methods: SINTACS and EPIK. The two methods have similar conceptual formulations but different architectures. SINTACS has been studied for evaluating the vulnerability of aquifers composed of any kind of geological structure. (Civita, 1997). On the other hand, EPIK is a procedure developed for geological setting existing in Switzerland. It has been implemented expressly to defend karst aquifers (Ofefp, 1998). Therefore, one could be called “general”, i.e. SINTACS, and the other “specialist”, i.e. EPIK. Because of their complex structure, karst aquifers are particularly vulnerable to pollution and therefore they need a special protection. The Maiella carbonate massif, situated in Central Italy, more exactly in the Abruzzi Apennines, covers a surface of 416 square km. It represents an important groundwater basin in Italy, with the typical and distinctive features of a karst aquifer. This research describes the various steps to carry out vulnerability maps by using a geographic information system. Lastly the results obtained by applying the two mentioned methods are compared, trying to identify and outline the more sensitive areas.