Classification of Groundwater Quality Based on Variability of Hydrogeochemical Environment

Groundwater quality is becoming an important issue in many parts of the world. The status of groundwater quality in the given groundwater system can be addressed through quantitative analysis of its hydrogeochemical field in temporal and spatial domain. A quantitative, multi-stage classification of groundwater quality adopted in Poland is presented and compared with the approach recommended by EU. It helps to guard pristine water quality and to detect early stages of deterioration of groundwater quality, thus allowing timely measures to achieve trend reversals.