Karst Spring Protection for the Sustainable and Healthy Living: The Examples of Niangziguan Spring and Shuishentang Spring in Shanxi, China

Abstract

The karst springs, among which the Niangziguan spring and the Shuishentang spring are two typical ones, account for 24% of the total water resources in Shanxi, China and play an important role in the economic and social development of Shanxi Province. However, the spring discharge has sharply declined due to climate change and increasing anthropogenic activities. In this study, the Mann–Kendall trend test was used to analyze the trend of precipitation and spring discharge in Niangziguan spring and Shuishentang spring. Physicochemical data were also collected to delineate the karst groundwater quality variations in the two karst springs. The results show that both the precipitation and the spring discharge show a declining trend in Niangziguan spring and Shuishentang spring. Climate change is one of the critical factors that cause spring discharge attenuation. The impacts of human activities on the springs are becoming increasingly prominent, resulting in various water eco-environmental problems. TDS, TH, SO42−, Cl−, NH4+ all show increasing trend in Niangziguan spring, and the increasing concentrations of TDS and SO42− are posing a serious threat to the safety of drinking water. In Shuishentang spring, CODMn, NO3−, and NO2− present increasing trend caused by domestic sewage and agricultural fertilizers and pesticides. Anthropogenic activities such as coal mining and quarrying, urbanization, and groundwater over exploitation should be regulated to protect the karst spring and to ensure the safety of water supply for residents.