The influence of slope collapse on water exchange between a pit lake and a heterogeneous aquifer

Abstract

Slope collapse will reduce the water exchange.

Slope collapse will affect the spatial distribution of the water exchange.

Precipitation have the most impact on the dynamics of the water exchange.

Due to the increase in open pit mining, pit lakes have become common surface water features, posing a potential risk to subsurface aquifer. In this study, a pit lake–groundwater interaction model is built based on the general program MODFLOW with the LAK3 package. For the first time, the effects of lake-slope collapse and aquifer heterogeneity on pit lake–groundwater interactions are analyzed by dividing the lake into six water exchange zones based on the aquifer lithology and groundwater level. Our investigation and simulations reveal a total water exchange from groundwater to the lake of 349000 m³/a without collapse of the pit lake slope, while the total net water exchange under slope collapse conditions is 248000 m³/a (i.e., a reduction of 1.40-fold). The monthly net water exchange per unit width from groundwater to the lake reaches the largest in April, shifting to negative values in zone IV from June to August and in zone V in June and July. Moreover, the monthly net water exchange per unit width decreases from north to south, and the direction and magnitude of water exchange are found to depend on the hydraulic gradients between the lake and groundwater and the hydraulic conductivity of the slope collapse.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Pit lake / Slope collapse / Groundwater–surface water interactions / Numerical simulation

References

[1] Ala-aho P, Rossi P M, Isokangas E, Kløve B (2015). Fully integrated surface–subsurface flow modelling of groundwater–lake interaction in an esker aquifer: model verification with stable isotopes and airborne thermal imaging. Journal of Hydrology (Amsterdam), 522: 391–406

[2] Davis A, Bellehumeur T, Hunter P, Hanna B, Fennemore G G, Moomaw C, Schoen S (2006). The nexus between groundwater modeling, pit lake chemogenesis and ecological risk from arsenic in the Getchell Main Pit, Nevada, U.S.A. Chemical Geology, 228(1–3): 175–196

[3] Downing J A, Watson S B, McCauley E (2001). Predicting cyanobacteria dominance in lakes. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 58(10): 1905–1908

[4] Drew L J, Langer W H, Sachs J S (2002). Environmentalism and natural aggregate mining. Natural Resources Research, 11(1): 19–28

[5] El-Zehairy A A, Lubczynski M W, Gurwin J (2018). Interactions of artificial lakes with groundwater applying an integrated MODFLOW solution. Hydrogeology Journal, 26(1): 109–132 doi:10.1007/s10040-017-1641-x

[6] Genereux D, Bandopadhyay I (2001). Numerical investigation of lake bed seepage patterns: Effects of porous medium and lake properties. Journal of Hydrology (Amsterdam), 241(3–4): 286–303

[7] Hou D, Li G, Nathanail P (2018). An emerging market for groundwater remediation in China: Policies, statistics, and future outlook. Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering, 12(1): 16doi:10.1007/s11783-018-1027-x

[8] Herzsprung P, Schultze M, Hupfer M, Boehrer B, Tümpling W Jr, Duffek A, VanderVeen A, Friese K (2010). Flood effects on phosphorus immobilization in a river water filled pit lake—Case study Lake Goitsche (Germany). Limnologica, 40(2): 182–190

[9] Hunt R J (2003). Ground water-lake interaction modeling using the LAK3 Package for MODFLOW 2000. Ground Water, 41(2): 114–118

[10] McDonald C P, Rover J A, Stets E G, Striegl R G (2012). The regional abundance and size distribution of lakes and reservoirs in the United States and implications for estimates of global lake extent. Limnology and Oceanography, 57(2): 597–606

[11] McJannet D, Hawdon A, Van Niel T, Boadle D, Baker B, Trefry M, Rea I (2017). Measurements of evaporation from a mine void lake and testing of modelling approaches. Journal of Hydrology (Amsterdam), 555: 631–647

[12] Mollema P N, Antonellini M (2016). Water and (bio) chemical cycling in gravel pit lakes: A review and outlook. Earth-Science Reviews, 159: 247–270

[13] Mollema P N, Stuyfzand P J, Juhasz-Holterman M H A, Van Diepenbeek P M J A, Antonellini M (2015). Metal accumulation in an artificially recharged gravel pit lake used for drinking water supply. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 150: 35–51

[14] Muellegger C, Weilhartner A, Battin T J, Hofmann T (2013). Positive and negative impacts of five Austrian gravel pit lakes on groundwater quality. Science of the Total Environment, 443(15): 14–23

[15] Peckenham J, Thornton T, Whalen B (2009). Sand and gravel mining: effects on ground water resources in Hancock county, Maine, USA. Environmental Geology, 56(6): 1103–1114

[16] Schneider R L, Negley T L, Wafer C (2005). Factors influencing groundwater seepage in a large, mesotrophic lake in New York. Journal of Hydrology (Amsterdam), 310(1–4): 1–16

[17] Smerdon B D, Mendoza C A, Devito K J (2007). Simulations of fully coupled lake-groundwater exchange in a subhumid climate with an integrated hydrologic model. Water Resources Research, 43(1): W014016

[18] Taviani S, Henriksen H (2015). The application of a groundwater/surfacewater model to test the vulnerability of Bracciano Lake (near Rome, Italy) to climatic and water-use stresses. Hydrogeology Journal, 23(7): 1481–1498

[19] Været L, Kelbe B, Haldorsen S, Taylor R H (2009). A modelling study of the effects of land management and climatic variations on groundwater inflow to Lake St Lucia, South Africa. Hydrogeology Journal, 17(8): 1949–1967

[20] Verpoorter C, Kutser T, Seekell D A, Tranvik L J (2014). A global inventory of lakes based on high-resolution satellite imagery. Geophysical Research Letters, 41(18): 6396–6402

[21] Virdi M L, Lee T M, Swancar A, Niswonger R G (2013). Simulating the effect of climate extremes on groundwater flow through a lakebed. Ground Water, 51(2): 203–218

[22] Weilhartner A, Muellegger C, Kainz M, Mathieu F, Hofmann T, Battin T J (2012). Gravel pit lake ecosystems reduce nitrate and phosphate concentrations in the outflowing groundwater. Science of the Total Environment, 420(15): 222–228

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Higher Education Press and Springer–Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature