The Assessment of Environmental and Health Risks in Sabalan Dam Basin Using WRASTIC Model

Background & objectives: One of the most important water-related issues is the pollution of water resources, which is mainly due to human activities and currently threatens many water resources in the world. Therefore, the use of appropriate tools to manage surface water quality seems necessary. This study was conducted to determine the potential risks of pollutants in Sabalan Dam using a WRASTIC model. Methods: WRASTIC evaluation model and GIS software were used to assess the risk of Sabalan Dam pollution accidents. To determine the level of pollution risk, the catchment area of Sabalan Dam was divided into 8 sub-basins. Then, in each sub-area, pollution source maps including various indicators of industrial effluents, agriculture, housing, recreation and transportation accidents were prepared in GIS software environment. Then scoring for each indicator was performed based on the potential intensity of pollutant sources. Finally, based on the obtained data, sub-basins were classified in terms of risk. Results: The results showed that based on the model used in terms of health and environmental pollution risk, the average risk of water pollution for the catchment area of Sabalan Dam was 48.29. Classification of the level of pollution risk in the sub-basins of Sabalan Dam showed that sub-basin S1 had a high level of risk and the level of risks in subbasins S2 and S4 were moderate. Conclusion: The use of WRASTIC model in determining the risk level of Sabalan Dam pollution accidents showed that the most important indicators of Sabalan Dam catchment was the entry of domestic wastewater and effluents of aquaculture and agricultural activities and mineral hot springs. The results of this study indicated the desirability of using the WRASTIC model in determining the pollution risk of the Sabalan dam catchment.