A hydrogeological study of the Nossana Spring (Val Seriana, Bergamo, Italy) is presented with the aim of assessing the spring’s depletion risk. In the last few years, the discharge of the Nossana Spring showed a decreasing trend, similar to the trend of many other springs in the Prealpine Region. The study was carried out using a groundwater flow model to simulate the depletion curve of the spring in different recharge conditions. The simulations have shown that the depletion curve of the Nossana Spring depends on the recharge during the previous season. As a result, a negative exponential relation giving the spring depletion curve as a function of the recharge was obtained. This relation was also used to statistically calculate the actual probability of the occurrence of a deficiency in water resources, which for the present day is equal to 2%. Finally, the effect of climate change was considered, showing in the next 100years a flat decline of about 40% in the average spring discharge and a considerable shortening of the critical length (the time to reach the critical discharge at which supply problems occur) in the dry season, which will be halved by the end of the century

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The paper proposes a study for the delineation of protection zones in the main discharge area of the Gran Sasso aquifer (Central Italy). At this aim, starting from a detailed geological and hydrogeological reconstruction, the study was divided into the following phases: 1) development of a conceptual model of water flow in the study area; 2) creation of a 3D numerical model in order to simulate the groundwater flow in saturated conditions, both at the basin and at fine-scale; 3) flow path analysis through deterministic and stochastic approaches; 4) assessment of the aquifer vulnerability based on a geomorphological analysis of the catchment area. Conceptual and numerical models were then used to delineate protection zones for wells and springs with chronological criterion and geomorphological-structural criterion (based on the EPIK method). The results show that with a chronological approach protection zones are located along the main flow directions, corresponding to the areas surrounding wells and springs with high hydraulic conductivity values (faults and thrusts) within the satured zone. On the contrary, the geomorphological method has found some important protection zones also quite far from wells and springs, in areas characterized by quick infiltration processes. The protection zones delineated with the stochastic method were finally intersected by the vulnerability map obtained with the EPIK method, to take into account both filtration and infiltration processes. The results show the local vulnerability of the groundwater to the pollution, with protection zones extending 1 to 5 km towards northeast from springs and wells.

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