Delineation of spring protection zone and vulnerability mapping of selected springs in Sulaymaniyah area, Kurdistan, Iraq

Sarchinar, Bestansur, and Tabin springs are large springs in Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Iraqi Kurdistan Region, which are considered for use as public supply. To evaluate the hydrochemical properties and heavy metals content of the selected springs, 80 water samples were collected continuously beginning on 24th Oct. 2015 through 24th July 2016. The results show that the water is odorless, colorless, contains a low value of total dissolved salts, predominant ions are calcium and bicarbonate, and all the water samples are not polluted with Cd²⁺, Pb²⁺, Cu²⁺, Ni²⁺ ions. The vulnerability of the selected springs is assessed using EPIK (epikarst, protective cover, infiltration condition, and karst network development) method. Vulnerability maps are counted as starting a new step for a better determination of springs’ water protection areas especially in the karst environment as the maps are generated based on different attributes as specified by adopted methods. Delineating springs’ protection zones are proposed depending on vulnerability assessment and recession curve analysis. Based on the EPIK vulnerability map, protection zones for all selected springs are defined using the equivalent relationship between the groundwater protection areas S and the protection factor F_p. Therefore, three protection areas for selected springs are recognized and based on recession curve analysis; two vulnerability scenarios are defined with an assessment of the proper dimensions of the protection zones for selected springs. The delineated protection zones around the tapped springs consist of three zones (immediate, inner, and outer protection zones).