Assessment of Spring Quality Privacy with the Combined Approach of VESPA Vulnerability Index and MDHT Method

Unsustainable development without considering regional planning can create adverse environmental effects, especially in karst water resources of a region from a qualitative point of view. Accordingly, in this study, a combination of two methods for determining spring vulnerability and qualitative zoning by MDHT method was used. This study was performed for three springs downstream of Seymareh Dam for a period of 5 years. The results showed that the value of vulnerability index in S1 spring was higher than the other two springs and the value was 150.4. Analysis of the results showed that the degree of vulnerability was an inverse function of spring discharge. By increasing the amount of discharge, the vulnerability index decreases. Considering the choice of MDHT method for qualitative zoning of the spring and the role of flow rate in determining the zoning scenario, the highest flow rate was related to S3 spring. The value of obtained MDHT index was also higher than the other two sources and the value of 417 has been calculated. The lowest flow rate was related to S1 spring and the MDHT index value was 14.75. The highest level is related to spring S1 and the lowest level is related to springs S2 and S3. The results show that the karst network of springs in the region is vulnerable, which affects the quality of these resources and sensitive areas of the region to develop exploitation are strongly associated with the risk of pollution.