Assessing Groundwater Vulnerability to Pollution in a Rapidly Urbanizing River Basin Using a Modified DRASTIC Land Use–Lineament Density Method

ABSTRACT Groundwater quality assessment is crucial for ensuring safe drinking water, protecting public health, and maintaining sustainable water resources for agricultural and industrial uses. The Awash River basin faces significant groundwater quality challenges due to rapid population growth, high urbanization, large‐scale irrigation, and industrial pollution. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the intrinsic vulnerability of aquifers to pollution in the Awash Basin and identify hotspots requiring urgent intervention using a modified DRASTIC overlay analysis method. In addition to the seven parameters considered in the generic DRASTIC overlay analysis (depth to the water table, recharge, aquifer media, slope, soil media, vadose zone, and hydraulic conductivity), we incorporated land use/land‐cover (LULC) and lineament density (LD) distributions (DRASTIC‐LU‐LD). This modification allowed us to produce more realistic groundwater vulnerability maps for the basin. To identify the most influential parameters in the overlay, sensitivity analysis was conducted using Map Removal Sensitivity Analysis (MRSA) and Single Parameter Sensitivity Analysis (SPSA). Initially, the generic DRASTIC index in the area ranges from 69 to 181, categorizing the area into four vulnerability zones: very low (21%), low (51%), medium (27%), and high (1%). After incorporating LU and LD, the index values ranged from 90 to 240. Based on the percentage of the total area studied, the inclusion of LU decreased the very low and low vulnerability zones from 72% to 44% and the inclusion of LD increased the high‐ and very‐high‐vulnerability zones from 14% to 27%. The areas most vulnerable to groundwater pollution are in the western (upper Awash), middle Awash, and northwestern regions, particularly in city centers where groundwater abstraction is significant. These high‐vulnerability zones coincide with municipal, industrial, and agricultural pollution sources. The vadose zone parameter has the highest impact in both MRSA and SPSA, with a variation index value of 3.08% and a mean effective weight of 27.93%, respectively. By identifying areas vulnerable to groundwater pollution, this study provides a valuable basis for informed decision‐making and the development of effective strategies for protecting groundwater from urban, industrial, and agricultural pollution sources.