MAPPING GROUNDWATER VULNERABILITY TO POLLUTION IN THE REGION OF ADIAKE, SOUTHEAST COASTAL OF CÔTE D'IVOIRE: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THREE (3) METHODS.

This study aims to map the vulnerability to groundwater pollution in the region of Adiaké subjected of intense agricultural activities. The application of intrinsic vulnerability methods (DRASTIC and SINTACS) gives high vulnerability in the South while the Susceptibility Index (SI) shows a potentially high (40%) and very high (60%) vulnerability across the region. The superposition of nitrate concentrations in groundwater and vulnerability classes gave a high coincidence rate (71.74%) with the susceptibility index. The very low margins of error: 1.52% (SI), 2.35% (SINTACS) and 2.90% (DRASTIC) prove that the applied methods are reliable; the SI method is the most appropriate and, DRASTIC and SINTACS are in phase with DRASTIC overestimating vulnerability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]