Depletion risk assessment of the Nossana Spring (Bergamo, Italy) based on the stochastic modeling of recharge

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.