TY - JOUR
T1 - Karst groundwater management by defining protection zones based on regional geological structures and groundwater flow fields
AU - Hao, Yonghong
AU - Yeh, Tian Chyi J.
AU - Hu, Caihong
AU - Wang, Yanrong
AU - Li, Xia
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgments The authors would like to acknowledge the support of National Natural Science Foundation of China NSFC- 40572150, the Fellowship of Shanxi Scholarship Council of China, and Science and Technology Development Program of Education Bureau of Shanxi Province. We are also grateful to Mr. Joseph Stefani of the University of Arizona for technical editing of this manuscript. Many thanks are extended to the two anonymous reviewers and the AE who have spent enormous efforts reviewing the manuscript and provided very encouraging, insightful, and constructive comments.
PY - 2006/6
Y1 - 2006/6
N2 - In a semiarid region, the karst aquifer generally forms a large groundwater reservoir that can play an important role in regional water supply. But because of the specific physical properties of karst aquifers, they are vulnerable to pollution and anthropogenic impacts. Karst groundwater management strategies are vital. As representative of karst springs in a semiarid area, Niangziguan Springs is located in the east of Shanxi Province, China with an annual average rate of discharge of 10.34 m3/s (1956-2003) (Y. Liang, unpublished data). The Niangziguan Spring Basin covers an area of 7,394 km2 with an annual average precipitation of 535 mm (1958-2003) (Hao et al. in Carsologica Sinica 23(1):43-47, 2004). Over the past three decades, accelerated groundwater exploitation has caused water-table decline in the aquifer, reduction of the spring discharge, and deterioration of water quality. In this study, three protection zones were defined to ensure the quality and capacity of this resource. The confluence of the 11 spring systems and the discharge areas were defined as I protection zone, the recharge basin was II protection zone, and the slack water area where there is little surface recharge was the III protection zone. Management strategies for each zone were suggested and evaluated to provide a scientific foundation for sustainable utilization.
AB - In a semiarid region, the karst aquifer generally forms a large groundwater reservoir that can play an important role in regional water supply. But because of the specific physical properties of karst aquifers, they are vulnerable to pollution and anthropogenic impacts. Karst groundwater management strategies are vital. As representative of karst springs in a semiarid area, Niangziguan Springs is located in the east of Shanxi Province, China with an annual average rate of discharge of 10.34 m3/s (1956-2003) (Y. Liang, unpublished data). The Niangziguan Spring Basin covers an area of 7,394 km2 with an annual average precipitation of 535 mm (1958-2003) (Hao et al. in Carsologica Sinica 23(1):43-47, 2004). Over the past three decades, accelerated groundwater exploitation has caused water-table decline in the aquifer, reduction of the spring discharge, and deterioration of water quality. In this study, three protection zones were defined to ensure the quality and capacity of this resource. The confluence of the 11 spring systems and the discharge areas were defined as I protection zone, the recharge basin was II protection zone, and the slack water area where there is little surface recharge was the III protection zone. Management strategies for each zone were suggested and evaluated to provide a scientific foundation for sustainable utilization.
KW - China
KW - Groundwater flow
KW - Groundwater management
KW - Karst
KW - Niangziguan Springs Basin
KW - Semiarid region
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U2 - 10.1007/s00254-006-0220-6
DO - 10.1007/s00254-006-0220-6
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:33745066170
SN - 0943-0105
VL - 50
SP - 415
EP - 422
JO - Environmental Geology
JF - Environmental Geology
IS - 3
ER -