Abstract:

The North China Plain is one of the important economic zones of China, with a population of 0.13 billion, and its main water source is groundwater. The groundwater has been polluted due to the sewage from industry and town living and the chemical fertilizer and pesticide from agriculture. The authors first analyzed several methods of groundwater contamination assessment and put forth a new method called Single Factor Standard Index Method which is obtained on the basis of Single Factor Index Method. Field investigation was conducted comprehensively. 6 063 groups of groundwater samples were got and 34 factors were tested of each group. According to the Single Factor Standard Index Method, 35.47% samples have been contaminated by human activities, mainly slightly contamination. Deep groundwater is better than shallow groundwater and uncontaminated deep groundwater accounts for 87.14%.  Using the Single Factor Standard Index Method，the indexes can be compared and the contamination degree can be showed directly. The results of using Single Factor Standard Index Method give a basis for groundwater contamination prevention.

Key words: North China Plain, groundwater, contamination, assessment