Forecasting of dissolved oxygen in the Guanting reservoir using an optimized NGBM (1,1) model.

An optimized nonlinear grey Bernoulli model was proposed by using a particle swarm optimization algorithm to solve the parameter optimization problem. In addition, each item in the first-order accumulated generating sequence was set in turn as an initial condition to determine which alternative would yield the highest forecasting accuracy. To test the forecasting performance, the optimized models with different initial conditions were then used to simulate dissolved oxygen concentrations in the Guanting reservoir inlet and outlet (China). The empirical results show that the optimized model can remarkably improve forecasting accuracy, and the particle swarm optimization technique is a good tool to solve parameter optimization problems. What's more, the optimized model with an initial condition that performs well in in-sample simulation may not do as well as in out-of-sample forecasting.

Mapping of groundwater potential zones in Salem Chalk Hills, Tamil Nadu, India, using remote sensing and GIS techniques.

This study proposes to introduce the remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) techniques in mapping the groundwater potential zones. Remote sensing and GIS techniques have been used to map the groundwater potential zones in Salem Chalk Hills, Tamil Nadu, India. Charnockites and fissile hornblende biotite gneiss are the major rock types in this region. Dunites and peridodites are the ultramafic rocks which cut across the foliation planes of the gneisses and are highly weathered. It comprises magnesite and chromite deposits which are excavated by five mining companies by adopting bench mining. The thickness of weathered and fracture zone varies from 2.2 to 50 m in gneissic formation and 5.8 to 55 m in charnockite. At the contacts of gneiss and charnockite, the thickness ranges from 9.0 to 90.8 m favoring good groundwater potential. The mine lease area is underlined by fractured and sheared hornblende biotite gneiss where groundwater potential is good. Water catchment tanks in this area of 5 km radius are small to moderate in size and are only seasonal. They remain dry during summer seasons. As perennial water resources are remote, the domestic and agricultural activities in this region depend mainly upon the groundwater resources. The mines are located in gently slope area, and accumulation of water is not observed except in mine pits even during the monsoon period. Therefore, it is essential to map the groundwater potential zones for proper management of the aquifer system. Satellite imageries were also used to extract lineaments, hydrogeomorphic landforms, drainage patterns, and land use, which are the major controlling factors for the occurrence of groundwater. Various thematic layers pertaining to groundwater existence such as geology, geomorphology, land use/land cover, lineament, lineament density, drainage, drainage density, slope, and soil were generated using GIS tools. By integrating all the above thematic layers based on the ranks and weightages, eventually groundwater potential zones were demarcated. The study indicates that groundwater potential is good to high in 22 villages and moderate in 13 villages. The good to high potential zone occupies an area of 128 km2 and moderate potential zone occupies an area of 77 km2. Groundwater occurrence is poor in five villages which need artificial recharge to augment groundwater.

Effect of postmining waters on cyanobacterial photosynthesis.

New waterbodies have been created in a postmining area of the brown-coal basin in Sokolov, Czech Republic. The former open-cast quarry, Medard, has been filling with water from a local river, the surrounding catchment spoil heaps, and acid mine drainages. The effect of acidic (pH down to 2.5) and high-conductivity water (up to 1400 mS/m) on selected cyanobacteria and the possibility of cyanobacterial water bloom in the newly formed Lake Medard were studied by means of chlorophyll fluorometry (actual photosystem II [PSII] quantum yield, ΔF/Fm', and relative electron transport rate, rETR). The acidic spoil-heap waters caused a decrease in cyanobacterial photosynthetic activity of 52 to 100% of the initial ΔF/Fm' value. The Dolichospermum strains were about 10 times more sensitive than Microcystis viridis. The high concentration of dissolved ions appeared to have less effect on cyanobacterial PSII. Although the bottom meta- and hypolimnion layers were proven to negatively influence the cyanobacteria, the perennial stratification of the lake does not enable the water characteristics of the upper layers to change extensively and thus possibly suppresses the undesirable cyanobacterial bloom. The response of cyanobacteria to spoil-heap waters appears to be species-specific and can promote selection of those resistant to postmining environments.

Improving forecasting accuracy of medium and long-term runoff using artificial neural network based on EEMD decomposition.

Hydrological time series forecasting is one of the most important applications in modern hydrology, especially for the effective reservoir management. In this research, an artificial neural network (ANN) model coupled with the ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) is presented for forecasting medium and long-term runoff time series. First, the original runoff time series is decomposed into a finite and often small number of intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) and a residual series using EEMD technique for attaining deeper insight into the data characteristics. Then all IMF components and residue are predicted, respectively, through appropriate ANN models. Finally, the forecasted results of the modeled IMFs and residual series are summed to formulate an ensemble forecast for the original annual runoff series. Two annual reservoir runoff time series from Biuliuhe and Mopanshan in China, are investigated using the developed model based on four performance evaluation measures (RMSE, MAPE, R and NSEC). The results obtained in this work indicate that EEMD can effectively enhance forecasting accuracy and the proposed EEMD-ANN model can attain significant improvement over ANN approach in medium and long-term runoff time series forecasting.

Climate change and the water cycle in newly irrigated areas.

Climate change is affecting agriculture doubly: evapotranspiration is increasing due to increments in temperature while the availability of water resources is decreasing. Furthermore, irrigated areas are expanding worldwide. In this study, the dynamics of climate change impacts on the water cycle of a newly irrigated watershed are studied through the calculation of soil water balances. The study area was a 752-ha watershed located on the left side of the Ebro river valley, in Northeast Spain. The soil water balance procedures were carried out throughout 1827 consecutive days (5 years) of hydrological and agronomical monitoring in the study area. Daily data from two agroclimatic stations were used as well. Evaluation of the impact of climate change on the water cycle considered the creation of two future climate scenarios for comparison: 2070 decade with climate change and 2070 decade without climate change. The main indicators studied were precipitation, irrigation, reference evapotranspiration, actual evapotranspiration, drainage from the watershed, and irrigation losses. The aridity index was also applied. The results represent a baseline scenario in which adaptation measures may be included and tested to reduce the impacts of climate change in the studied area and other similar areas.

Mapping of coastal aquifer vulnerable zone in the south west coast of Kanyakumari, South India, using GIS-based DRASTIC model.

The south west coast of Kanyakumari district in Tamil Nadu, India, is significantly affected by seawater intrusion and diffusion of pollutants into the aquifers due to unregulated beach placer mining and other anthropogenic activities. The present study investigates the vulnerability of the coastal aquifers using Geographic Information System (GIS)-based DRASTIC model. The seven DRASTIC parameters have been analyzed using the statistical equation of this model to demarcate the vulnerable zones for aquifer contamination. The vulnerability index map is prepared from the weighted spatial parameters, and an accounting of total index value ranged from 85 to 213. Based on the categorization of vulnerability classes, the high vulnerable zones are found near the beach placer mining areas between Manavalakurichi and Kodimanal coastal stretches. The aquifers associated with settlements and agricultural lands in the middle-eastern part have experienced high vulnerability due to contaminated water bodies. Similarly, the coastal areas of Thengapattinam and Manakudi estuary and around the South Tamaraikulam have also been falling under high vulnerability condition due to backwater and saltpan. In general, the nearshore region except the placer mining zone and the backwater has a moderately vulnerable condition, and the vulnerability index values range from 149 to180. Significantly, the northern and northeastern uplands and some parts of deposition zones in the middle-south coast have been identified as low to no vulnerable conditions. They are structurally controlled by various geological features such as charnockite, garnet biotite gneiss and granites, and sand dunes, respectively. The aquifer vulnerability assessment has been cross-verified by geochemical indicators such as total dissolved solids (TDS), Cl(-), HCO3(-), and Cl(-)/HCO3(-) ratio. The high ranges of TDS (1,842--3,736 mg/l) and Cl(-) (1,412--2,112 mg/l) values are well correlated with the observed high vulnerable zones in the study area. The Cl(-)/HCO3(-) ratio (7.13 to 12.18) of the high vulnerable zone obviously indicates deterioration of the aquifer contamination. Sensitivity analysis has also been performed to evaluate sensitivity of the individual DRASTIC parameters to aquifer vulnerability. This reveals the net recharge rate and groundwater table depth are becoming more sensitive to aquifer contamination. It is realized that the GIS is an effective platform for aquifer vulnerability mapping with reliable accuracy, and hence, the study is more useful for sustainable water resource management and the aquifer conservation.

Temporal change in land use by irrigation source in Tamil Nadu and management implications.

Interannual variation in rainfall throughout Tamil Nadu has been causing frequent and noticeable land use changes despite the rapid development in groundwater irrigation. Identifying periodically water-stressed areas is the first and crucial step to minimizing negative effects on crop production. Such analysis must be conducted at the basin level as it is an independent water accounting unit. This paper investigates the temporal variation in irrigated area between 2000-2001 and 2010-2011 due to rainfall variation at the state and sub-basin level by mapping and classifying Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) 8-day composite satellite imagery using spectral matching techniques. A land use/land cover map was drawn with an overall classification accuracy of 87.2%. Area estimates between the MODIS-derived net irrigated area and district-level statistics (2000-2001 to 2007-2008) were in 95% agreement. A significant decrease in irrigated area (30-40%) was observed during the water-stressed years of 2002-2003, 2003-2004, and 2009-2010. Major land use changes occurred three times during 2000 to 2010. This study demonstrates how remote sensing can identify areas that are prone to repeated land use changes and pin-point key target areas for the promotion of drought-tolerant varieties, alternative water management practices, and new cropping patterns to ensure sustainable agriculture for food security and livelihoods.

Key issues for determining the exploitable water resources in a Mediterranean river basin.

One of the major difficulties in water planning is to determine the water availability in a water resource system in order to distribute water sustainably. In this paper, we analyze the key issues for determining the exploitable water resources as an indicator of water availability in a Mediterranean river basin. Historically, these territories are characterized by heavily regulated water resources and the extensive use of unconventional resources (desalination and wastewater reuse); hence, emulating the hydrological cycle is not enough. This analysis considers the Jucar River Basin as a case study. We have analyzed the different possible combinations between the streamflow time series, the length of the simulation period and the reliability criteria. As expected, the results show a wide dispersion, proving the great influence of the reliability criteria used for the quantification and localization of the exploitable water resources in the system. Therefore, it is considered risky to provide a single value to represent the water availability in the Jucar water resource system. In this sense, it is necessary that policymakers and stakeholders make a decision about the methodology used to determine the exploitable water resources in a river basin.

Managing water quality under drought conditions in the Llobregat River Basin.

The primary effects of droughts on river basins include both depleted quantity and quality of the available water resources, which can render water resources useless for human needs and simultaneously damage the environment. Isolated water quality analyses limit the action measures that can be proposed. Thus, an integrated evaluation of water management and quality is warranted. In this study, a methodology consisting of two coordinated models is used to combine aspects of water resource allocation and water quality assessment. Water management addresses water allocation issues by considering the storage, transport and consumption elements. Moreover, the water quality model generates time series of concentrations for several pollutants according to the water quality of the runoff and the demand discharges. These two modules are part of the AQUATOOL decision support system shell for water resource management. This tool facilitates the analysis of the effects of water management and quality alternatives and scenarios on the relevant variables in a river basin. This paper illustrates the development of an integrated model for the Llobregat River Basin. The analysis examines the drought from 2004 to 2008, which is an example of a period when the water system was quantitative and qualitatively stressed. The performed simulations encompass a wide variety of water management and water quality measures; the results provide data for making informed decisions. Moreover, the results demonstrated the importance of combining these measures depending on the evolution of a drought event and the state of the water resources system.

Water resources: the prerequisite for ecological restoration of rivers in the Hai River Basin, northern China.

The competition for water resources between humans and river ecosystems is becoming ever more intense worldwide, especially in developing countries. In China, with rapid socioeconomic development, water resources to maintain river ecosystems are progressively decreasing, especially in the Hai River Basin (HRB), which has attracted much attention from the Chinese government. In the past 56 years, water resources have continuously decreased in the basin, such that there is 54.2 % less surface water now compared with then. Water shortages, mainly due to local anthropogenic activities, have emerged as the main limiting factor to river ecological restoration in the HRB. However, the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, the largest such project in the world, presents a good opportunity for ecological restoration of rivers in this basin. Water diverted from the Danjiangkou Reservoir will restore surface water resources in the HRB to levels of 30 years ago and will amount to more than 20 billion m(3). Our findings highlight the fact that water resources are crucial for river ecological restoration.

The influence of natural and human factors in the shrinking of the Ebinur Lake, Xinjiang, China, during the 1972-2013 period.

The Ebinur Lake is a closed inland lake located within the arid region of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region in the northwestern part of China, near the Kazakhstan border. The shrinkage of the lake area is believed to be caused by ecological environmental deterioration and has become an important restraining factor for the social development of the local population. Of all the lakes in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, the Ebinur Lake is the most severely impacted water body. The lake has undergone change in size naturally for over thousands of years due to natural causes. However, the authors observed the dramatic changes in the freshwater resources of this region from the aerial images from 1972 to 2013. Thus, this paper traces and analyzes the change in the Ebinur Lake surface area in the past 41 years. A set of six satellite images acquired between 1972 and 2013 was employed to map the change in the surface area of the Ebinur Lake using the water index approach. The authors applied the traditional normalized difference water index (NDWI) and the modified normalized difference water index (MNDWI) to quantify the change in the water body area of the Ebinur Lake during the study period. The results indicate that the lake area has experienced a dramatic decrease of 31.4% from 1972 to 2013. The paper also examines the natural processes and human activities that may have contributed to the decrease in the lake area. The results show that the decrease in total lake area appears to coincide with periods of rapid land reclamation in the study area. Moreover, the uncontrolled land reclamation activities, such as irrigation, can increase the sedimentation in the Ebinur Lake thereby reducing the lake size. Reduction of the lake area has a negative ecological impact on the environment and on human life and property. The lake area is the most important factor to ensure the environment of the watershed and the key index to measure the environment balance.

Dynamics of the toxin cylindrospermopsin and the cyanobacterium Chrysosporum (Aphanizomenon) ovalisporum in a Mediterranean eutrophic reservoir.

Chrysosporum ovalisporum is a cylindrospermopsin toxin producing cyanobacterium that was reported in several lakes and reservoirs. Its growth dynamics and toxin distribution in field remain largely undocumented. Chrysosporum ovalisporum was reported in 2009 in Karaoun Reservoir, Lebanon. We investigated the factors controlling the occurrence of this cyanobacterium and vertical distribution of cylindrospermopsin in Karaoun Reservoir. We conducted bi-weekly sampling campaigns between May 2012 and August 2013. Results showed that Chrysosporum ovalisporum is an ecologically plastic species that was observed in all seasons. Unlike the high temperatures, above 26 °C, which is associated with blooms of Chrysosporum ovalisporum in Lakes Kinneret (Israel), Lisimachia and Trichonis (Greece) and Arcos Reservoir (Spain), Chrysosporum ovalisporum in Karaoun Reservoir bloomed in October 2012 at a water temperature of 22 °C during weak stratification. Cylindrospermopsin was detected in almost all water samples even when Chrysosporum ovalisporum was not detected. Chrysosporum ovalisporum biovolumes and cylindrospermopsin concentrations were not correlated (n = 31, r² = -0.05). Cylindrospermopsin reached a maximum concentration of 1.7 µg L⁻¹. The vertical profiles of toxin concentrations suggested its possible degradation or sedimentation resulting in its disappearance from the water column. The field growth conditions of Chrysosporum ovalisporum in this study revealed that it can bloom at the subsurface water temperature of 22 °C increasing the risk of its development and expansion in lakes located in temperate climate regions.

Identifying the effects of human pressure on groundwater quality to support water management strategies in coastal regions: a multi-tracer and statistical approach (Bou-Areg region, Morocco).

Groundwater pollution from anthropogenic sources is a serious concern affecting several coastal aquifers worldwide. Increasing groundwater exploitation, coupled with point and non-point pollution sources, are the main anthropogenic impacts on coastal environments and are responsible for severe health and food security issues. Adequate management strategies to protect groundwater from contamination and overexploitation are of paramount importance, especially in arid prone regions, where coastal aquifers often represent the main freshwater resource to sustain human needs. The Bou-Areg Aquifer (Morocco) is a perfect example of a coastal aquifer constantly exposed to all the negative externalities associated with groundwater use for agricultural purposes, which lead to a general increase in aquifer salinization. In this study data on 61 water samples, collected in June and November 2010, were used to: (i) track groundwater composition changes related to the use of irrigation water from different sources, (ii) highlight seasonal variations to assess aquifer vulnerability, and (iii) present a reproducible example of multi-tracer approach for groundwater management in rural coastal areas. Hydrogeochemical results show that Bou-Areg groundwater is characterized by - high salinity, associated with a remarkable increase in bicarbonate content in the crop growing season, due to more intense biological activity in irrigated soils. The coupled multi-tracer and statistical analysis confirms the strong dependency on irrigation activities as well as a clear identification of the processes governing the aquifer's hydrochemistry in the different seasons. Water Rock Interaction (WRI) dominates the composition of most of groundwater samples in the Low Irrigation season (L-IR) and Agricultural Return Flow (ARF) mainly affects groundwater salinization in the High Irrigation season (H-IR) in the same areas naturally affected by WRI. In the central part of the plain River Recharge (RR) from the Selouane River is responsible for the high groundwater salinity whilst Mixing Processes (MIX) occur in absence of irrigation activities.

Integrating petrography, mineralogy and hydrochemistry to constrain the influence and distribution of groundwater contributions to baseflow in poorly productive aquifers: insights from Gortinlieve catchment, Co. Donegal, NW Ireland.

Identifying groundwater contributions to baseflow forms an essential part of surface water body characterisation. The Gortinlieve catchment (5 km(2)) comprises a headwater stream network of the Carrigans River, itself a tributary of the River Foyle, NW Ireland. The bedrock comprises poorly productive metasediments that are characterised by fracture porosity. We present the findings of a multi-disciplinary study that integrates new hydrochemical and mineralogical investigations with existing hydraulic, geophysical and structural data to identify the scales of groundwater flow and the nature of groundwater/bedrock interaction (chemical denudation). At the catchment scale, the development of deep weathering profiles is controlled by NE-SW regional scale fracture zones associated with mountain building during the Grampian orogeny. In-situ chemical denudation of mineral phases is controlled by micro- to meso-scale fractures related to Alpine compression during Palaeocene to Oligocene times. The alteration of primary muscovite, chlorite (clinochlore) and albite along the surfaces of these small-scale fractures has resulted in the precipitation of illite, montmorillonite and illite-montmorillonite clay admixtures. The interconnected but discontinuous nature of these small-scale structures highlights the role of larger scale faults and fissures in the supply and transportation of weathering solutions to/from the sites of mineral weathering. The dissolution of primarily mineral phases releases the major ions Mg, Ca and HCO3 that are shown to subsequently form the chemical makeup of groundwaters. Borehole groundwater and stream baseflow hydrochemical data are used to constrain the depths of groundwater flow pathways influencing the chemistry of surface waters throughout the stream profile. The results show that it is predominantly the lower part of the catchment, which receives inputs from catchment/regional scale groundwater flow, that is found to contribute to the maintenance of annual baseflow levels. This study identifies the importance of deep groundwater in maintaining annual baseflow levels in poorly productive bedrock systems.

Laboratory and field validation of a Cry1Ab protein quantitation method for water.

The widespread planting of crops expressing insecticidal proteins derived from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) has given rise to concerns regarding potential exposure to non-target species. These proteins are released from the plant throughout the growing season into soil and surface runoff and may enter adjacent waterways as runoff, erosion, aerial deposition of particulates, or plant debris. It is crucial to be able to accurately quantify Bt protein concentrations in the environment to aid in risk analyses and decision making. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is commonly used for quantitation of Bt proteins in the environment; however, there are no published methods detailing and validating the extraction and quantitation of Bt proteins in water. The objective of the current study was to optimize the extraction of a Bt protein, Cry1Ab, from three water matrices and validate the ELISA method for specificity, precision, accuracy, stability, and sensitivity. Recovery of the Cry1Ab protein was matrix-dependent and ranged from 40 to 88% in the validated matrices, with an overall method detection limit of 2.1 ng/L. Precision among two plates and within a single plate was confirmed with a coefficient of variation less than 20%. The ELISA method was verified in field and laboratory samples, demonstrating the utility of the validated method. The implementation of a validated extraction and quantitation protocol adds consistency and reliability to field-collected data regarding transgenic products.

Detection of metronidazole and ronidazole from environmental samples by surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

In this study, the surface enhanced Raman spectra (SERS) of two prohibited veterinary drugs, metronidazole (MNZ) and ronidazole (RNZ), have been acquired, and compared to the theoretically calculated spectra using density function theory (DFT). The experimental Raman and SERS spectra of MNZ and RNZ exhibit high resemblance with the DFT calculations. SERS detection of MNZ and RNZ from standard solutions as well as real environmental samples (tap, lake, swamp waters and soil) was performed on highly sensitive and reproducible silver nanorod array substrates. The limits of detection for MNZ and RNZ are 10 and 1 µg/mL in methanol and ultra-pure water, respectively, and 10-50 µg/mL in the environmental samples. The SERS-based method demonstrates its potential as a rapid, simple, and inexpensive means for the onsite screening of banned antibiotics from the aquatic and sediment environments, with minimal requirement for sample pretreatment.

Trace metal determination in natural waters by automated solid phase extraction system and ICP-MS: the influence of low level Mg and Ca.

A fully automated high pressure pretreatment system with Nobias Chelate-PA1 resin (PA1) was developed for trace metal determination by ICP-MS in natural waters. By varying the concentrations of Mg and Ca to mimic the concentrations in the eluate obtained by PA1 or iminodiacetate type resins, the overall analytical performance of the system was assessed for the determination of Al, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Y, Cd, Ag, Pb and REE. Comparing with the low mM level Mg and Ca (both ranging from 1 to 4mM) eluted by iminodiacetate type resins, the eluate obtained by PA1 contains sub-µM level Mg and Ca, which remarkably decrease matrix effect in ICP-MS analysis and significantly improve the analytical performance. With recovery better than 90% for most the trace metals examined, the accuracy was further verified through the analysis of five natural water reference materials with salinity spanning from 0 to 35‰. We have successfully applied the pretreatment system to determine trace metals in the seawater samples collected in the Western Philippine Sea through Taiwan GEOTRACES cruise.

Development of a selective and pH-independent method for the analysis of ultra trace amounts of nitrite in environmental water samples after dispersive magnetic solid phase extraction by spectrofluorimetry.

This paper describes an innovative and rapidly dispersive magnetic solid phase extraction spectrofluorimetry (DMSPE-FL) method for the analysis of trace amounts of nitrite in some environmental water samples. The method includes derivatization of aqueous nitrite with 2, 3-diaminonaphthalene (DAN), analysis of highly fluorescent 2, 3-naphthotriazole (NAT) derivative using spectrofluorimetry after DSPME. The novelty of our method is based on forming NAT that was independent with the pH-responsive and was adsorbed on MMWCNT by hydrophobic attractions in both acidic and basic media. The extraction efficiency of the sorbent was investigated by extraction of nitrite. The optimum extraction conditions for NO2(-) were obtained as of extraction time, 1.5 min; 10mg sorbent from 160 mL of the sample solution, and elution with 1 mL of acetone/KOH. Under the optimal conditions, the calibration curves were obtained in the range of 0.1-80 µg L(-1) (R(2)=0.999) and LOD (S/N=3) was obtained in 34 ng L(-1). Relative standard deviations (RSD) were 0.6 % (five replicates at 5 µg L(-1)). In addition, the feasibility of the method was demonstrated with extraction and determination of nitrite from some real samples containing tap, mineral, sea, rain, snow and ground waters, with the recovery in standard addition to real matrix of 94-102 % and RSDs of 1.8-10.6%.

Pleistocene paleo-groundwater as a pristine fresh water resource in southern Germany--evidence from stable and radiogenic isotopes.

Shallow groundwater aquifers are often influenced by anthropogenic contaminants or increased nutrient levels. In contrast, deeper aquifers hold potentially pristine paleo-waters that are not influenced by modern recharge. They thus represent important water resources, but their recharge history is often unknown. In this study groundwater from two aquifers in southern Germany were analyzed for their hydrogen and oxygen stable isotope compositions. One sampling campaign targeted the upper aquifer that is actively recharged by modern precipitation, whereas the second campaign sampled the confined, deep Benkersandstein aquifer. The groundwater samples from both aquifers were compared to the local meteoric water line to investigate sources and conditions of groundwater recharge. In addition, the deep groundwater was dated by tritium and radiocarbon analyses. Stable and radiogenic isotope data indicate that the deep-aquifer groundwater was not part of the hydrological water cycle in the recent human history. The results show that the groundwater is older than ~20,000 years and most likely originates from isotopically depleted melt waters of the Pleistocene ice age. Today, the use of this aquifer is strictly regulated to preserve the pristine water. Clear identification of such non-renewable paleo-waters by means of isotope geochemistry will help local water authorities to enact and justify measures for conservation of these valuable resources for future generations in the context of a sustainable water management.