Determining the condition of groundwater in evaluating the need for corrective measures: a case for the national groundwater-monitoring network in South Korea

Groundwater data (water level, electrical conductivity (EC) and temperature) have been collected since 1995 from the national groundwater-monitoring stations in South Korea. Recently, substantial groundwater-level decline and deterioration of groundwater quality were reported at several stations. Relevant authorities undertook to investigate the groundwater hazards and to devise mitigation measures for selected monitoring stations. However, there were no criteria to determine the status of the groundwater level and EC, compared with historic data. A methodology is presented, which defines the groundwater condition. Using the suggested criteria, water level and EC data are classified into normal, watch and warning levels, leading to different administrative measures and technical investigations. The primary criterion compares the observed values for the evaluation year (e.g. 2003) and the historic values of normal years preceding the evaluation year (e.g. 1996–2002), using box plots. The secondary criterion uses variation trends of the values with the aid of parametric and non-parametric trend tests. Final decisions are dependent on scores assigned to each test. According to the criteria suggested, detailed investigations and mitigation measures for water level decline are required for seven stations and those for water quality are needed for 18 stations because they reside within the warning classification.