Identifying the Sources of Solutes in Karst Groundwater in Chongqing,China:a Combined Sulfate and Strontium Isotope Approach

Groundwater from karst subterranean streams is among the world＇s most important sources of drinking water supplies, and the hydrochemical characteristics of karst water are impacted by both natural environment and people. Therefore, the study of hydrochemistry and its solutes＇ sources is very important to ensure the normal function of life support systems. In this paper, thirty-five representative karst groundwater samples were collected from different aquifers （limestone and dolomite） and various land use types in Chongqing to trace the sources of solutes and relative hydrochemical processes. Hydrogeochemical types of karst groundwater in Chongqing were mainly of the Ca-HCO3 type or Ca （Mg）-HCO3 type. However, some hydrochemical types of karst groundwater were the K＋Na＋Ca-SO4 type （G25 site） or Ca-HCO3＋SO4 type （G26 and G14 site）, indicating that the hydrochemistry of these sites might be strongly influenced by anthropogenic activities or unique geological characteristics. The dissolved Sr concentrations of the studied groundwater ranged from 0.57 to 15.06 ~tmmol/L, and the STSr/S6Sr varied from 0.70751 to 0.71627. The j34S-SO42- fell into a range of-6.8%o-21.5%o, with a mean value of 5.6%o. The variations of both 87Sr/S6Sr and Sr values of the groundwater samples indicated that the Sr element was controlled by the weathering of limestone, dolomite and silicate rock. However, the figure of STSr/S6Sr vs. Sr2＋/[K＋＋Na＋] showed that the anthropogenic inputs also obviously contributed to the Sr contents. For tracing the detailed anthropogenic effects, we traced the sources of solutes collected karst groundwater samples in Chongqing according to the j34S value of potential sulfate sources. The variations of both j34S and 1/ SO42- values of the groundwater samples indicated that the atmospheric acid deposition （AAD）, dissolution of gypsum （GD）, oxidation of sulfide mineral （OS） or anthropogenic inputs （SF： sewage or fertilizer） have contributed to solutes in karst groundwater. The influence of oxidation of sulfide mineral, atmospheric acid deposit and anthropogenic inputs to groundwater in Chongqing karst areas was much widespread.

Numerical simulation of karst groundwater system for discharge prediction and protection design of spring in Fangshan District, Beijing

As the rapid growth of population and social economy, the situation of water resources shortage in Beijing city becomes more and more serious. Karst groundwater in Beijing has great potential for development. The reasonable exploitation of karst groundwater can enhance the water-supply stability of Beijing city. Firstly, the distribution of springs has been investigated in Fangshan, Beijing, and the characteristics of these springs have also been analyzed. Secondly, the hydrogeological conceptual model has been built, based on this, the groundwater flow numerical simulation model was established, and the parameter identification and validation of the model were performed under groundwater level and spring discharge. The results shows that the simulated values of groundwater level and spring discharge are very close to measured values, and the model can be used for groundwater resources evaluation and spring discharge prediction. Finally, a reasonable exploitation design has been developed with three exploitation scenarios considering the spring discharge protection; meanwhile, the quantity of groundwater resources was evaluated in the karst aquifer. The simulation results indicate that different exploitation yields have a significant impact on spring discharge; and the effective measures should be taken to protect the spring discharge.

Numerical simulation and environmental impact prediction of karst groundwater in Sangu Spring Basin,China

The changes of development and utilization of karst groundwater in Sangu Spring Basin have made the original groundwater resource evaluation unable to meet the needs of future economic development.Based on analysis of existing data,combined with the characteristics of supplement,runoff and draining of regional karst groundwater,the Visual Modelflow software was used to build a numerical simulation model of Sangu spring Basin.The amount of karst groundwater resource and groundwater environment of the Basin were evaluated under different exploitation schemes,and the changes of karst groundwater environment in the future ten years were also predicted.The fitting error which is less than 0.5 m between the calculated value and measured value of the water level in the fitted borehole accounts for 93%.For the lithologically and structurally complex Sangu Spring Basin,the fitting effect of numerical simulation model was ideal.On the basis of the current mining amount of 111.80 million m3/a,the total redistributed exploited amount in the spring region was 61.79 million m3/a.Under the condition that the quantity of recoverable resources reached 173.59 million m3/a and under different precipitation schemes,all constraint conditions were satisfied,such as regional water level drawdown,maximum allowable water level drawdown in every simulated water source area and the flow rate of Guobi Spring.The results will provide a scientific basis for the rational development and utilization of karst groundwater in Sangu Spring Basin.

A New Attempt to Evaluate the Renewable Capacity of A Typical Karst Groundwater System by Using 13C and 14C A Case Study of Karst Groundwater in Pingyi-Feixian County, Shandong Province

Objective The renewable capacity is an important attribute of groundwater resources. Most previous studies have focused on the porous aquifer systems by the measurement and analysis of isotopes deuterium （D）, oxygen-18 （180）, tritium （3H）, and carbon-14 （14C） （Chen Zongyu et al., 2010; Bozdag and Gocmez, 2016）, and few studies have been conducted on karst groundwater systems. The major reason lies in the complexity of groundwater hydrogeological conditions in karst areas, and most of them are open systems. In this study, we selected the Pingyi-Feixian karst groundwater system in Shandong Province, northern China, as a typical study area in an attempt to evaluate the renewable capacity by 14C age and the δ13C mixing model. The spatial characteristics and spatial variability in renewable capacity of karst groundwater were further discussed, providing a reference for the exploitation of karst grotmdwater in the similar region.

Environmental Effects of Groundwater Development in Xuzhou City, China

Xuzhou City is located in the most northwestern portion of Jiangsu Province, P. R. China. Karst groundwater in the Ordovician and Cambrian Limestone aquifers is the main source of water supply. There are 527 wells in urban areas to exploit the karst groundwater, yielding up to 35 000 m^3 per day. After 1978, urbanization and industrialization of Xuzhou City have continued at a greatly accelerated pace; the population increased from 670 700 （1978） to 1 645 500 （2002）, its GDP from 0.71 × 10^9 $ to 42.7× 10^9 $ and the urban area from 184 km^2 to 1,038 km^2 （built-up city area from 41.3 km^2 to 81.9 km^2）. The volume of karst groundwater withdrawal increased yearly before the operation of a supply plant of surface water in 1992, from 3.85x 10^7 m^3（1978） to 1.34× 10^8 m^3 （1991） and now maintained at 0.1× 10^9 m^3 （2002）. Intensive overexploitation of karst groundwater has caused a continuous descending of the piezometric level and the area of the depression cone increases year after year. These changes have increased the vulnerability of the karst groundwater system and have induced environmental problems such as depletion of water resources, water quality deterioration, groundwater contamination and karst collapse. The largest buried depth of karst groundwater is up to 100 m in the dry season in some areas, while 66 exhausted wells have been abandoned. A change in the thickness of the unsaturated zone due to the drawdown of the piezometric level has caused a change of the chemical environment which has an impact on the physical state and major chemical compositions in groundwater. The contents of Ca^2＋, Mg^2＋, NO3^-, SO4^2- and C1^- in karst groundwater has increased significantly, total hardness （CaCO3 content） rises annually in most pumping wells and exceeds the Standard of Drinking Water of P.R. China. Point source pollution and belt-like pollution along the rivers has caused water quality deterioration. The sudden loss of buoyant support due to rapid drawdown of the piezometric level has induced 7 karst collapses to form 17 pits and has caused an estimated US$ 10 million economic loss. These problems have influenced the quality of development in the city.

Tracer Experimental Study of the Main Conveying Conduits of CCl_4 Pollutant in the Qiligou Water Supply Resource

The Ordovician karst groundwater in the Qiligou basin is an important water supply source. This groundwater has been seriously contaminated in recent years by Cfl4 from a pesticide plant located in the recharge area. The highest concentration of CCl4 in the groundwater is 3909.2μg/L. Large scale tracer experiments were carried out to study the conveying conduits for Cfl4 in the basin on May 1-6, 2005. Nontoxic, edible glucose was used as a tracer and it was detected by spectrophotometric techniques. Well area of the basin, was employed for injecting the tracer X-61, located near the pesticide plant in the southern recharge Ten wells widely located in the groundwater runoff area were used as observing and sampling wells. The results show that the migration of the pollutants is controlled by the water hydrodynamic field and by the development of karst conduits. The tracer did not enter the up-drainage wells, X-49 and X-47, near the injection point because the water levels at these wells are higher than at the injection point. The adjacent well X-62 is close to the injection site, but the tracer reached the well after eleven hours. Wells X-43, X-59, X-58, YY-1 and X-57, located in the syncline axis runoff area, are respectively 2.5, 3.5, 4.33, 4.38 and 5.44 kilometers from the in- jection site. The time for initial appearance of tracer was 4, 4, 2, 6 and 4 hours, respectively. The maximum runoff velocity （well X-58） is over two kilometers per hour, indicating that the karst conduits are well developed along the syncline basin axis. These conduits are the main conveying conduits for groundwater and Cfl4. Closer wells were not necessarily the first to receive tracer. This shows the inhomogeneity in karst development which causes complex runoff, and pollutant migration, patterns.

Characterizing occurrence of emerging organic contaminants in Dinaric karst catchment of Jadro and
Zrnovnica springs,Croatia

The occurrence of emerging organic contaminants(EOCs)was investigated in vulnerable Dinaric karst catchment of Jadro and
Zrnovnica springs in Croatia,under varying flow conditions and across three different water resource types(groundwater,springs,and surface water).The maximal EOCs concentration in both springs were observed following autumn recharge events,while during peak discharge no detection above the limits of detection(LOD)was recorded due to dilution process.Contrarily to springs,groundwater from deep borehole exhibited highest total EOCs concentration under low flow conditions,underscoring the considerable karst aquifer vulnerability and its oligotrophic nature.The peak EOCs concentration in karstic Cetina River coincided with the river's lowest discharge.The highest mass flux of 1013 g/day was determined for very mobile pharmaceutical metformin detected in Cetina.The presence of potentially persistent to very persistent compounds,like DEET and 1H-benzotriazole,which exhibited highest detection frequencies across all sampling sites,was observed in association with varying hydrological conditions.Hypotheses regarding the occurrence of identified EOCs include surface contamination infiltrating directly through ponors and highly karstified areas,potential persistence in the epikarst and aquifer matrix,and site-specific contamination sources for compounds such as 1H-benzotriazole,gabapentin,and ketoprofen found in groundwater.To evaluate the risk of inadvertent human exposure to EOCs across various age groups,we utilized measured spring concentrations and calculated drinking water equivalent levels(DWEL),which ranged from 1.4 mg/L for cotinine to 503 mg/L for sucralose,both detected in Jadro spring.Although EOCs concentrations in ng/L are unlikely to pose a significant risk to healthy population,long-term exposure to EOCs mixture remains unknown.Given scarcity of research on EOCs in karst environments on both global and national levels,our study enhances comprehension of their occurrence and behaviour across different karst water resources that hold crucial importance for drinking water supply in regions like Dinarides.