- 1Polytechnic University of Milan, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Italy (nicolas.rinaldi@polimi.it)
- 2Department of Chemical and Geological Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy
- 3Lario Reti Holding S.p.A., Lecco, Italy
Climate change can significantly impact on water resource, in terms of quality and quantity. In a changing world the climate can intensify the vulnerability of hydrogeological systems such as karst aquifers. The combination of long dry summers with the change in the trend of precipitation (characterized by few but very intense events) is expected to influence the storage of water that could intensely decrease with important consequences on potable water in mountain area. Also, the quality of water may change, water turbidity and water pollutants can increase.
The aim of this work is to better understand the behavior of a karst spring (Praondè) located in the province of Lecco, in the town of Civate. The purpose is to understand the behavior of the spring under different climate conditions for a better management of water resource. In the beginning, precipitation and temperature data, extrapolated from ARPA Lombardia, were analyzed to identify a specific climate trend in this area. Then, thanks to the collaboration with Lario Reti Holding S.p.A, discharge data of the spring were analyzed and paired with precipitation and temperature data.
From September 2023 different samples were collected at the spring and since the end of 2024 we started collecting precipitation samples. All the samples were collected to define the ratio of oxygen and deuterium isotopes. To describe the behavior of the spring, several parameters were detected. These parameters provide us with information on how fast the aquifer is draining and the level of vulnerability of the spring. The most important parameter detected is the depletion coefficient α (Maillet, 1905). The outcome of this analysis is important for trying to predict the possible behavior of the spring in extreme drought conditions.
The primary objective of this study is to enhance data quality by improving monitoring systems, thereby enabling more precise and effective management of water resources
How to cite: Rinaldi, N., Rossi Ronca, R., Ronchetti, F., Papini, M., and Longoni, L.: How climate change affect spring discharge and what we can do to improve water management, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-12418, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-12418, 2025.
