DRASTIC Method - Dataset

Question

Data: I need a dataset including 7 layers to conduct the DRASTIC method as part of a master research. These 7 Layers include:

1. Depth to water layer
2. Recharge map
3. Aquifer Media type
4. Soil map
5. Impact of vadose zone map
6. Hydraulic conductivity zone layer
7. Topography (DEM)

Context: I am going to create an assignment for a student with DRASTIC METHOD.

Region: Any region in the world.

License: I can keep the dataset conficential and not shared on the web.

Format: Shapefiles, geodatabase, raster formats acceptable by ArcGIS or QGIS

Authority: there is no specific authority for the data. Any source welcome.

Requirements: Data format should be acceptable with common GIS tools

Answer 1

Some of these datasets are available for the entire US, or for many locations in the US. Most of them are provided by the USGS (US Geological Survey), except for soil data which is provided by the USDA (US Department of Agriculture). Hydraulic conductivity and groundwater recharge are only available for limited areas, so first find an area where they overlap, and you should be able to get the other data. The High Plains aquifer is the only area I found with all these datasets, but there may be others if you look for them.

1. Depth to water data: https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/gw

2. Groundwater recharge data: https://water.usgs.gov/ogw/gwrp/activities/HydCompData.html

   

   • Groundwater recharge data for the High Plains aquifer: https://water.usgs.gov/ogw/gwrp/activities/gspdata/Studies/HighPlains.html

3. Soil data: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/survey/tools/?cid=nrcseprd1407030

4. Aquifer media type: https://water.usgs.gov/ogw/aquiferbasics/index.html
5. Impact of vadose zone: I'm not quite sure what you're looking for here. I was able to figure out that the "vadose zone" is the unsaturated portion of an aquifer, but I don't understand what kind of data you mean by "impact of vadose zone." If you're just looking for depth or thickness of the vadose zone, that should be included in groundwater depth data. USGS provides data about groundwater levels, perhaps you will find what you're looking for here: https://groundwaterwatch.usgs.gov/
6. Hydraulic conductivity: There are some scattered resources, but I didn't find a central source for all of them.
   • Digital map of hydraulic conductivity for the High Plains aquifer in parts of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming

If any of those layers comes as point data and you need it as a raster, ArcGIS and QGIS are both capable of interpolating point data into raster data.

This page with water budget data seems like it might be helpful even though it's not one of the specific categories you requested.