2004 UC Proceedings Abstract
GIS in Environmental Health for Evaluating Drinking Water Contamination Track: Health and Human Services Author(s): Susan Shaw This application was born from the state mandated vulnerability evaluation of all public water systems. Given a comprehensive list of possible contaminating activities, this project attempts to create a map layer for each of these activities. Tulare County Environmental Health oversees 300 water systems with a total of 400 sources, each of which was mapped. The value of GIS is that you can see the micro and the macro view. It is used to examine individual well sites for specific vulnerability (micro), but even more important, it allows you to look at countywide trends (macro). Various contaminants, such as nitrates, DBCP, MTBE, arsenic, leaking underground storage tanks, landfills, hazardous materials, and pesticide management zones, can be seen in relationship to environmental factors such as land use, ground water levels, soil types, soil permeability, and topography. Contamination levels can be frozen in time (i.e., one year intervals) to see changes and trends. Susan Shaw Tulare Co. Environmental Health Environmental Health 5957 S Mooney Blvd Visalia , CA 93277 US Phone: 559-733-6441 Fax: 559-733-6932 E-mail: sshaw@tularehhsa.org |
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