title: Integrating groundwater into land planning: a risk assessment methodology.
abstract: Generally, groundwater is naturally of good quality for human consumption and represents an essential source of drinking water. In Canada, small municipalities and individuals are particularly reliant on groundwater, since they cannot afford complex water treatment installations. However, groundwater is a vulnerable resource that, depending on its characteristics, can be contaminated by almost any land use. In recent decades, governments have launched programs to acquire more information on groundwater, in order to better protect it. Nevertheless, the data produced are rarely adequate to be understood and used by land planners. The aim of this study was to develop a method that helps planners interpret hydrogeological data in the Province of Quebec, Canada. Based on the requests and needs of planners during semi-directed interviews, a methodology was developed to qualitatively evaluate groundwater contamination risk by land uses. The method combines land planning data and hydrogeological data through the MACBETH multicriteria analysis method, to obtain maps of groundwater contamination risk. The method was developed through group and individual meetings with numerous hydrogeology, land planning, water's economics and drinking water specialists. The resulting maps allow planners to understand the dynamics of groundwater within their territory, identify problem areas where groundwater is threatened and analyse the potential impact of planning scenarios on the risk of groundwater contamination.
authors.affiliation: School of Urban and Regional Planning, Université Laval, 2325 rue des Bibliothèques, Québec, G1V 0A6, Canada.
authors.forename: Roxane
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lavoie
authors.affiliation: Haute École d'Ingénierie et de Gestion du Canton de Vaud, Hes-So, Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Florent
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Joerin
authors.affiliation: University of Mons, Centre de Recherche Waroqué, Mons, Belgium.
authors.forename: Jean-Claude
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Vansnick
authors.affiliation: School of Urban and Regional Planning, Université Laval, 2325 rue des Bibliothèques, Québec, G1V 0A6, Canada. Electronic address: manuel.rodriguez@esad.ulaval.ca.
authors.forename: Manuel J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
mesh_terms: D002947:Cities; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D060587:Groundwater / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D011792:Quebec; D018570:Risk Assessment; D014881:Water Supply
keywords: Groundwater protection; Land planning; MACBETH; Multicriteria analysis; Protection de l'eau souterraine; Risk evaluation; aménagement du territoire; analyse multicritère; évaluation du risque