Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Applied Geography journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apgeog Prioritization to protect springs for public urban water supplies, based on multi-criteria evaluation and GIS (State of Mexico, Mexico) Sonia López a , José L. Expósito a,∗ , María V. Esteller a , Miguel A. Gómez a , Roberto Franco b , Guillermo P. Morales a a Instituto Interamericano de Tecnología y Ciencias del Agua (IITCA), Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México. Carretera Toluca-Atlacomulco, km 14.5. CP 50200, Toluca, Estado de México b Facultad de Geografía, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México. Cerro de Coatepec, Ciudad Universitaria, C.P. 50110, Toluca, Estado de México ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Springs Drinking water Regionalization Multi-criteria evaluation Protection of groundwater Mexico ABSTRACT The problematic that commonly arises when protecting springs that supply water for human consumption re- quires a methodological process to prioritize springs that are used for this purpose according to their greatest need for protection from contamination and exploitation processes. To this end, the stages included in the present study were: a) regionalization of the study area (State of Mexico, Mexico) considering physical variables, which included precipitation, hydrogeological functioning, and geoforms; b) selection of the springs used for human supply that have the greatest exploitation fows, as registered in the Public Water Rights Record; and c) prioritization of springs to be protected based on a multi-criteria evaluation (MCE), considering criteria such as exploitation fow, land use, population to be supplied, conservation of spring water collection systems, existence of alternative supply sources, and marginalization index of nearby populations. Regionalization enabled iden- tifying regions that were homogeneous in terms of the characteristics of the springs and their physical en- vironment. Six of those regions with the largest territorial areas were selected, where 88% of the springs used for human consumption were located. Within each selected region, the springs that were representative of ex- ploitation fow were identifed, and a total of 23 were included. Lastly, MCE permit to identify six springs (one in each region) that were priorities for protection. The prioritization of the springs to be protected in each of the six regions selected will facilitate the future application of protection methods based on the physical characteristics of the springs and their physical and socioeconomic environments. Considering also the characteristics of groundwater fow in the feeding areas of the springs. 1. Introduction A spring is a natural outfow of water from an underground supply to the ground surface (USDA, 2012). The discharge of a spring is gen- erally due to the diference between the elevation of the hydraulic head in the aquifer and the elevation of the land surface where the discharge occurs (Kresic, 2010; Kreye, Wei, & Reksten, 1996). The hydrogeological, geomorphological, and climatological char- acteristics of a region defne the types of springs. Fig. 1 presents an overview of a groundwater fow system and its relationship with the emergence of some types of springs. After water from precipitation and melting snow infltrates, it fows towards the land surface since less permeable materials exist that impede its movement, creating des- cending contact springs (De-Co-Sp). If the infltration reaches the main aquifer and the piezometric level (PL) presents descending gradients, springs form in lower foothills or piedmont regions (De-De-Sp). Other types of springs discharge water under pressure into valleys, through fractures that afect the confning layer of the underlying aquifer. These are known as ascending springs (As-Sp), and occasionally as thermal springs (Th-Sp) due to high water temperature (USDA, 2012). Springs play an important role in the hydrological cycle, and in some cases, as a source of water for human use and consumption (UNESCO, 2014). Springs with abundant and permanent fow generally ofer a signifcant supply of water to the local population. These springs are vital to semi-urban and rural communities, pro- viding them with their only source of water, given that these commu- nities are usually located in regions where the aquifers have been overexploited. This leads to problems related to sinking, cracks, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2019.04.005 Received 14 November 2018; Received in revised form 12 April 2019; Accepted 12 April 2019 ∗ Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: quetzalli_1@hotmail.com (S. López), jlexpositoc@uaemex.mx (J.L. Expósito), mvestellera@uaemex.mx (M.V. Esteller), magomeza@uaemex.mx (M.A. Gómez), rfp@uaemex.mx (R. Franco), gpmoralesr@uaemex.mx (G.P. Morales). Applied Geography 107 (2019) 26–37 0143-6228/ © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. T