Development of artificial intelligence models for well groundwater quality simulation: Different modeling scenarios

Groundwater is one of the most important freshwater resources, especially in arid and semiarid regions where the annual amounts of precipitation are small with frequent drought durations. Information on qualitative parameters of these valuable resources is very crucial as it might affect its applicability from agricultural, drinking, and industrial aspects. Although geo-statistics methods can provide insight about spatial distribution of quality factors, applications of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) models can contribute to produce more accurate results as robust alternative for such a complex geo-science problem. The present research investigates the capacity of several types of AI models for modeling four key water quality variables namely electrical conductivity (EC), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), total dissolved solid (TDS) and Sulfate (SO₄) using dataset obtained from 90 wells in Tabriz Plain, Iran; assessed by k-fold testing. Two different modeling scenarios were established to make simulations using other quality parameters and the geographical information. The obtained results confirmed the capabilities of the AI models for modeling the well groundwater quality variables. Among all the applied AI models, the developed hybrid support vector machine-firefly algorithm (SVM-FFA) model achieved the best predictability performance for both investigated scenarios. The introduced computer aid methodology provided a reliable technology for groundwater monitoring and assessment.