The knowledge of groundwater quality as a primary resource of potable uses is significant in the arid and
semi-arid area of the world such as Iran. Groundwater quality evaluation is applied to determine suitability
of water for drinking uses. In the Amol- Babol Plain where located in the north of Iran; many shallow wells
have been constructed by inhabitants to safer water demand for agriculture, domestic and drinking.
Therefore, the quality of these wells could be easily compromised by surface activities and runoff such as
agricultural, residential and industrial activities. Groundwater samples were collected from 60 wells during
rainy and dry seasons in the 2009. Multivariate statistical analysis showed that Na+, Cl-, TDS, total
coliforms, fecal coliforms, HCO3 -, BOD, COD and Ca2+ are significant parameters, which influenced
groundwater quality for drinking purpose. The spatial distribution maps of the main pollutants were
generated by using geostatistical tools in the study area. GIS software was used for the application of
kriging method with cross-validation leading to the estimation of groundwater quality in the study area.
Based on the analysis results and comparison with drinking water quality standard such as WHO and EPA,
most of the study area falls in the moderately polluted zone. The results revealed that the groundwater in
the north- east and east side of Amol-Babol Plain was unsuitable for drinking purpose, due to influence of
anthropogenic contamination and salinization.