The growing importance and use of groundwater turns out to be necessary to evaluate the vulnerability of groundwater to contamination, which can be an important tool for environmental planning. Such evaluation requires a characterization of the physical environment, especially related to its soil and aquifers physical properties, among which the hydraulic conductivity stands out. In this context, this research aims to study the hydraulic conductivity of soils and the assessment of natural vulnerability to groundwater contamination of the Palmital stream watershed, based on a detailed characterization of the study area, located in the rural part of Viçosa city. Furthermore, the research seeks knowledge on the hydraulic conductivity of the soil classes present on the watershed, which are representative of Zona da Mata region, to landfill leachate, in order to verify the possibility of solid waste disposal in natural soil in landfills located in the region hilltops. The characterization of soils hydraulic conductivity at depth was done by the completion of permeability tests in boreholes, in six points on the watershed. The study of hydraulic conductivity of soils also involved the collection of undisturbed soil samples to about 1,0 m deep, at five points on the watershed, with subsequent determination of physical characteristics and performance of variable head permeability tests at laboratory, using water and landfill leachate as fluids. The assessment of the aquifers pollution vulnerability was performed by applying the DRASTIC and GOD methods. The characterization of the study area revealed that the watershed is covered by gneiss residual soils and an unconfined aquifer. Regarding pedology, soils are classified as Red-Yellow Latosols, Red-Yellow Acrisols and Haplic Cambisols. The results obtained in field varied from 10 -4 to 10 -7 cm.s -1 , demonstrating the heterogeneity in soil in relation to the hydraulic conductivity. The results of water permeability laboratory tests have shown that Acrisols have hydraulic conductivity of the order of 10 -4 and 10 -5 cm.s -1 , lower than Latosols and Cambisols, which presented similar values, of the order of 10 -3 and 10 -4 cm.s -1 . The results confirm the effect of the Latosols fabric in its hydraulic behavior compared with other soils with high clay content. The results of leachate permeability laboratory tests have shown that Cambisols have hydraulic conductivity of the order of 10 -6 and 10 -7 cm.s -1 , lower than Latosols and Acrisols. The results of laboratory permeability tests have also demonstrate the hydraulic conductivity of studied residual soils to landfill leachate is lower than to water, mainly due to clogged pores, considering a leachate containing significant amounts of suspended solids. Regarding aquifers vulnerability assessment to contamination, the application of DRASTIC and GOD methods resulted in similar maps and showed the great influence of the depth to water table in the evaluation. The watershed is divided into areas of low and medium vulnerability, the latter being predominant in areas of lower altitude and less wavy relief, where the water table is shallow. In the medium vulnerability areas, there is a risk of groundwater contamination due to the improper disposal of domestic sewage and the presence of animal waste from pig sty, corrals and pastures show that, demonstrating the need for improvement in sanitary structure in the watershed.
