Reconstruction of an acid water spill in a mountain reservoir

Abstract

The Olivargas Reservoir is located in a remote and scarcely monitored area in the Odiel River Basin (Southwest Spain) and is used for domestic, agricultural and mining water supplies. In contrast with highly monitored reservoirs, this paper explores the application of the CE-QUAL-W2 model, that was designed by Cole andWells in 2005, to a poorly monitored reservoir and the utility of the results obtained. The model satisfactorily reproduced the water head measured continuously over three years, temperature (T), total dissolved solids (TDS), dissolved oxygen (DO) and pH measured bimonthly in a depth profile near the dam. A significant increase in TDS and decrease in DO and pH profiles were observed for four months, especially in the hypolimnion. The model reproduced changes in the parameters by assuming the occurrence of an acid water spill into the reservoir. A comparison of calculated results and measured TDS and DO prompted the conclusion that the spill consisted of approximately 3000 t of TDS (mainly sulfates) and 26 t of Fe(II) flowing into the reservoir for approximately 15 days at rates of approximately two and 0.02 kg/s, respectively.