Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Determination of the groundwater-leakage mechanism (binary mixing) in a karstic dam site using thermometry and isotope approach (HPP Visegrad, Bosnia, and Herzegovina)

  • Thematic Issue
  • Published:
Environmental Earth Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper presents a study of karst conduit genesis as well as establishing a groundwater circulation model: an isotopic approach for revealing binary mixing of cold and the thermal water underlying hydropower plant (HPP) at Visegrad, Bosnia, and Herzegovina. The study was conducted with the aim of water-leakage mechanism in the porous karst. Before the first filling of the HPP Visegrad reservoir, water from springs downstream of the dam had a temperature of 19 °C with a discharge capacity of around 0.5 m3/s. After the reservoir had been filled, the elevated hydrostatic pressure started increasing the discharge rate from 1.4 m3/s in the first year of HPP Visegrad operation, up to 15 m3/s after 20–22 years with a temperature decreasing of 7–9 °C in average. After large and expensive remediation works, the leakage effect was decreased to a discharge rate of 3.5 m3/s with an increase of the temperature to 14–15 °C. The main purpose of this paper has been to define a binary-mixing mechanism for disjunction cold (reservoir water) and thermal groundwater (deep aquifer) discharge capacity. Besides temperature modeling, environmental tracers (2H, 18O, 3H, 3H/3He apparent age, noble gases, and carbon isotopes [13C, 14C]) have been used to identify different components in the leakage water and deep thermal water. According to these analyses, water discharge from the same springs can be divided into three different types (regarding age) as: young water component (age of 0 year), an older part of young water component (age of about 30 years), and old water component (age above 1000 years). Based on all data percentage share, the total discharge amount of two older components of thermal water is around 15%, while that of water leaking directly from the reservoir was 85%.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Al-Charideh A (2011) Environmental isotope study of groundwater discharge from the large karst springs in West Syria: a case study of Figeh and Al-sin springs. Environ Earth Sci 63:1–10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bonacci O, Roje-Bonacci T (2008) Water losses from the Ričice reservoir built in the Dinaric karst. Eng Geol 99:21–127 (Elsevier)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bruce DA (2003) Sealing of massive water inflows through karst by grouting: principles and practice. In: Back B (ed) Sinkholes and the engineering and environmental impacts of karst. ASCE Geotechnical Special Publication, Reston

    Google Scholar 

  • Criss RE, Davisson ML (1996) Isotopic imaging of surface water/groundwater interactions, Sacramento Valley, California. J Hydrol 178:205–222

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Criss R, Davisson L, Surbeck H, Winston W (2007) Isotopic methods. In: Goldscheider N, Drew D (eds) Methods in karst hydrogeology International Contribution to Hydrogeology, IAH, 26th edn. Taylor and Francis/Balkema, London, pp 123–145

    Google Scholar 

  • Delbart C, Barbecot F, Valdes D, Tognelli A, Fourre E, Purtschert R, Couchoux L, Jean-Baptiste P (2014) Investigation of younfg water inflow in karst aquifers using SF6-CFC-3H/3He-85Kr-39Ar and stable isotope components. Appl Geochem 50:164–176

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fazeli MA (2007) Construction of grout curtain in karstic environment case study: Salman Farsi dam. Environ Geol 51(5):791–796. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-006-0397-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ford D, Williams P (2007) Karst hydrogeology and geomorphology. Willey, Hoboken

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Gardner P, Solomon DK (2009) An advanced passive diffusion sampler for the determination of dissolved gas concentrations. Water Resour Res 45(6):W06423

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldscheider N (2015) Overview of methods applied in karst hydrogeology. In: Stevanović Z (ed) Karst aquifers—characterization and engineering. Professional practice in earth sciences. Springer, Cham

    Google Scholar 

  • Hartmann A, Barberá JA, Lange J, Andreo B, Weiler M (2013) Progress in the hydrologic simulation of time variant recharge areas of karst systems—exemplified at a karst spring in Southern Spain. Adv Water Resour 54:149–160

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hu K, Chen H, Nie Y, Wang K (2015) Seasonal recharge and mean residence times of soil and epikarst water in a small karst catchment of southwest China. Sci Rep 5:10215

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jeelani G, Kumar SU, Bhat NA, Sharma S, Kumar B (2015) Variation of δ18O, δD and 3H in karst springs of south Kashmir, western Himalayas (India). Hyrol Process 29:522–530

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kluge T, Wieser M, Aeschbach-Hertig W (2010) Assessing the use of 3H–3He dating to determine the subsurface transit time of cave drip waters. Isot Environ Health Stud 46:299–311

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Milanovic P (1999) Geolosko inzenjerstvo u karstu. Energoprojekt, Beograd

    Google Scholar 

  • Milanovic P (2004) Water resources engineering in karst. CRC Press, Boca Raton

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Milanovic S (2015) Choosing optimal dam sites and preventing leakage from reservoirs karst aquifers—characterization and engineering. In: Stevanović Z (ed) Professional practice in earth sciences. Springer, Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  • Milanovic S, Vasic L (2016) 3D Conduit modelling of leakage below a dam situated in highly karstified rocks. In: Stevanović Z, Krešić N, Kukurić N (eds) Karst without boundaries. International association of hydrogeologists selected papers, ISBN: 978-1-138-02968-2. CRC Press/Balkema, Taylor & Francis group, pp 321–336

  • Mohammadzadeh H, Kazemi M (2017) Geofluids assessment of the ayub and shafa hot springs in kopet-dagh zone (NE Iran): an isotopic geochemistry approach. Geofluids, Hindawi Geofluids. https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/6358680

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Molnár M, Rinyu L, Veres M, Seiler M, Wacker L, Synal H-A (2013) EnvironMICADAS: a mini 14C AMS with enhanced gas ion source interface in the Hertelendi Laboratory of Environmental Studies (HEKAL). Hung Radiocarb 55:338–344

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mook WG (2006) Introduction to isotope hydrology-stable and radioactive isotopes of hydrogen, oxygen and carbon. Taylor & Francis Group, Milton Park

    Google Scholar 

  • Morgenstern U, Stewart MK, Stenger R (2010) Dating of streamwater using tritium in a post nuclear bomb pulse world: continuous variation of mean transit time with streamflow. Hydrol Earth Syst Sci 14:2289–2301

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olujic J, Karovic J (1985) Osnovna geoloska karta 1: 100 000, list Visegrad. Savezni geoloski zavod, Beograd

    Google Scholar 

  • Ozyurt NN, Lutz HO, Hunjak T, Mance D, Roller-Lutz Z (2014) Characterization of the Gacka River basin karst aquifer (Croatia): hydrochemistry, stable isotopes and tritium-based meanresidence times. Sci Total Environ 487:245–254

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palcsu L, Major Z, Köllő Z, Papp L (2010) Using an ultrapure 4He spike in tritium measurements of environmental water samples by the 3He-ingrowth method. Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom 24:698–704

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palcsu L, Morgenstern U, Sültenfuss J, Koltai G, László E, Temovski M, Major Z, Nagy JT, Papp L, Varlam C, Faurescu I, Túri M, Rinyu L, Czuppon G, Bottyán E, Jull AJT (2018) Modulation of cosmogenic tritium in meteoric precipitation by the 11-year cycle of solar magnetic field activity. Sci Rep 8:12813

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Papp L, Palcsu L, Major Z, Rinyu L, Toth I (2012) A mass spectrometric line for tritium analysis of water and noble gas measurements from different water amounts in the range of microlitres and millilitres. Isot Environ Health Stud 48(4):494–511

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sun Z, Ma R, Wang Y, Ma T, Liu Y (2016) Using isotopic, hydrogeochemical-tracer and temperature data to characterize recharge and flow paths in a complex karst groundwater flow system in northern China. Hydrogeol J 24:1393–1412

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Therond R (1972) Recherche sur l'etancheite des lacs de barrage en pays karstique. Eyrolles, Paris

    Google Scholar 

  • Trček B, Zojer H (2010) Recharge of springs. In: Kresic N, Stevanovic Z (eds) Groundwater hydrology of springs. Elsevier, Blumington, pp 87–127

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Turkmen S (2003) Treatment of the seepage problems at the Kalecik Dam (Turkey). Eng Geol 68:159–169 (Elsevier)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vasic L (2017) Geneza i uslovi cirkulacije voda kompleksnih karstnih sistema Kučajsko-beljaničkog masiva, Doctoral dissertation, Department of hydrogeology, Faculty of mining and geology, University of Belgrade, Belgrade

  • Vodila G, Palcsu L, Futo I (2010) A 9-year old record and analysis of stable isotope ratios of precipitation in Debrecen. ATOMKI Annual Report; ISSN 0231-3596; CODEN AREAE9; (no.25); p. 76

  • Zogovic D (1980) Some methodological aspects of hydrogeological analysis related to dam and reservoir construction in karst. Proceedings of 6th Yugoslav conf. for Hydrogeol. and Eng. geol., Portoroz

Download references

Acknowledgements

This paper was supported by projects from Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Serbia: Project “Groundwater Potential and Base for its Sustainable Utilization” (No: OI 176022) and Project (No: TR 37005), and partly supported by the European Union and the State of Hungary, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund in the project of GINOP-2.3.2-15-2016-00009 ‘ICER’. The English proof-reading and additional comments of Prof. Tim Jull are highly appreciated.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Hydrogeology, Faculty of Mining and Geology, University of Belgrade, Djusina 7, Belgrade, 11 000, Serbia

    Ljiljana Vasić & Saša Milanović

  2. Isotope Climatology and Environmental Research Centre, Institute for Nuclear Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Bem tér 18/c, Debrecen, 4026, Hungary

    Anita Puskás-Preszner & Laszlo Palcsu

Authors
  1. Ljiljana Vasić
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Saša Milanović
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Anita Puskás-Preszner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Laszlo Palcsu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ljiljana Vasić.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This article is a part of a Topical Collection in Environmental Earth Sciences on Sustainable Management of Karst Natural Resources, guest edited by Drs. Sasa Malinovic and Zoran Stevanovic.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Vasić, L., Milanović, S., Puskás-Preszner, A. et al. Determination of the groundwater-leakage mechanism (binary mixing) in a karstic dam site using thermometry and isotope approach (HPP Visegrad, Bosnia, and Herzegovina). Environ Earth Sci 79, 174 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-020-08910-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-020-08910-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation