Water Losses from the Ričice Reservoir Built in the Dinaric Karst
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See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/222742946 Water losses from the Ričice reservoir built in the Dinaric karst Article in Engineering Geology · June 2008 DOI: 10.1016/j.enggeo.2007.11.014 CITATIONS READS 28 167 2 authors: Ognjen Bonacci Tanja Roje-Bonacci University of Split University of Split 419 PUBLICATIONS 3,810 CITATIONS 171 PUBLICATIONS 681 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: I am writing paper dealing with hydrology of Skradinski Buk waterfall on the Krka River. View project Strategic Partnership for the Mediterranean Sea Large Marine Ecosystem, GEF/UNEP-MAP View project All content following this page was uploaded by Ognjen Bonacci on 14 July 2019. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Engineering Geology 99 (2008) 121–127 www.elsevier.com/locate/enggeo Water losses from the Ričice reservoir built in the Dinaric karst ⁎ Ognjen Bonacci , Tanja Roje-Bonacci Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Split, 21000 Split, Matice hrvatske str. 15, Croatia Accepted 14 November 2007 Available online 13 February 2008 Abstract The Ričice reservoir was built in 1987 in the central part of the bare Dinaric karst region in Croatia, on the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. The reservoir water level rise rapidly after rainfall, but due to high water-loss rates the water remains impounded for a very short time. The reservoir volume at the spillway altitude is 18.4 × 106 m3. Due to water losses, the mean annual water volume in the 1989–1995 period was 6.5 × 106 m3. Interdisciplinary analyses and investigations of geological, hydrological and hydrogeological factors which caused water losses from the Ričice reservoir have been carried out. Water losses from the reservoir are defined using a water budget equation. An assessment of the calculation of hydraulic conductivity, and a definition of the groundwater level below the Ričice reservoir, using Darcy's equation for vertical flow, is carried out. It may be concluded that the water losses from the Ričice reservoir are mainly controlled by the water level in the reservoir. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Dinaric karst; Croatia; Ričice reservoir; Water losses; Hydraulic conductivity, Lugeon unit 1. Introduction dissolution widening of initially narrow fractures. They showed that the structure of the karst rocks below the dam site is of high Living conditions for man in many karst regions are not relevance for the stability of the dam, as well as for the water favourable. This is especially through in bare Dinaric karst region. leakage from the reservoir. The main reason for this is specific annual water regime (Bonacci, Natural lakes and artificial reservoirs may lie directly within 1987). In autumn and winter excessive precipitation results in the carbonate rocks, but may also be present where unconsolidated flooding, which frequently last a long time. Immediately after the deposits overlie limestone strata (Winter, 2004). Many bodies of floods end, long dry periods began. These facts have forced man water in karst terrains, especially those lying on bare limestone, to build dams and storage water in karst. are intermittent, but may also be perennial. Motz (1998) found Karst is not static but a highly dynamic system. Scale issues are that vertical leakage from 11 natural karst lakes to the upper particularly important for understanding and modelling karst water Floridian aquifer averages 0.12–4.27 m yr− 1. circulation, and especially water losses from reservoirs. Conditions The above mentioned characteristics of karst water circulation for water circulation in a karstified medium are strongly dependent present a great variety of risks associated with the construction of on space and time scales (Bonacci et al., 2006). Ford and Williams dams and reservoirs. The most frequent problems are related to (2007) state that the direct exposure of karst terrains facilitates the caverns at dam sites, land subsidence at reservoir bottoms, water initiation of karst drainage and its later evolution through sinkholes leakage at dam sites and from reservoirs, induced seismicity as a of different sizes at the main points of water infiltration. consequence of water storage, endangerment of endemic fauna, Dreybrodt et al. (2002) and Romanov et al. (2003) presented and the changing of the local groundwater-surface water balance a model of karstification below dam sites and have demonstrated (Milanović, 2004a,b; Waltham et al., 2005). Milanović (2004a) that leakage from these hydraulic structures can be caused by stresses that due to the fact that each karst region is different, individual situations are very seldom, if ever, repeated. ⁎ Corresponding author. Fax: +385 21 465117. The main problem for the construction of the surface reservoirs E-mail address: [email protected] (O. Bonacci). in karst is ensuring water tightness. There are great numbers of 0013-7952/$ - see front matter © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.enggeo.2007.11.014 122 O. Bonacci, T. Roje-Bonacci / Engineering Geology 99 (2008) 121–127 Fig. 1. Location map of the study area with state border between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, hydrographic networks, position of main discharge gauging stations and supposed groundwater flow directions. successfully performed reservoirs in karst all over the world region. Fig. 1b shows a study area, with the locations of surface (Bonacci and Roje-Bonacci, 2003; Milanović,2004betc), but streamflows, significant natural karst water phenomenon (the there are also some failures (Turkmen 2003; Milanović, 2004b; Prološko Blato natural retention, the Red Lake and the Blue Ahmadipour, 2005; Unal et al., 2007 etc). In this paper problems of Lake), the locations of three reservoirs (Rastovača, Tribistovo water losses from the Ričice reservoir developed in bare Dinaric and Ričice), the positions of five discharge gauging stations karst region will be discussed. (designated A, B, C, D and E), supposed groundwater flow directions, directions of flow in superficial watercourses, and 2. Basic characteristic of the Ričice reservoir and the state border between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. its catchment The relief is morphologically well-developed and non-uniform, as can be seen from two cross-sections given in Figs. 2 and 3. Fig. 2 The Ričice reservoir is located in Croatia (Fig. 1a) between presents cross-section α–α, marked in Fig. 1b. It can be seen at the 43°29′ and 43°31′N and 17°04′ and 17°08′E. The whole study position of the Red Lake, the world's deepest collapsed karst area is located in the central part of bare and deep Dinaric karst doline (Bögli, 1980) in which water permanently exists. The water Fig. 2. Cross-section α–α (see Fig. 1) with indicated position of the Red Lake. O. Bonacci, T. Roje-Bonacci / Engineering Geology 99 (2008) 121–127 123 Fig. 3. Cross-section β–β (see Fig. 1) with indicated position of the Ričice reservoir and the Vrljika River. level in the Red Lake fluctuates from about 250 to 275 m above sea existence of many uncontrolled swallow holes through which level (a. s. l.). The investigated depth of its bottom is at 6m below surface water quickly infiltrates underground. For example, the sea level (b. s. l.). Detailed speleological investigations of the Red number of days on which the Ričina River at station A (Fig. 1b) Lake proved that the lake is connected directly to two karst dried up in the period 1979–1995 varies from between 285 conduits through which water constantly flows in and out from the (1979) and 350 (1994), with an average of 327 days. The flow at upper to the lower part of the karst aquifer. The Red Lake is a this location exists only 10% of the year, and appeared after natural piezometer directly connected to the large karst conduits, heavy rainfall. and its water level fluctuations very probably follow the ground- The average annual discharge in the period 1989–2001 and water level oscillations in that part of the karst aquifer. Because of topographic catchment areas of five discharge gauging stations the difficulty in measuring the water level in the Red Lake only designated in Fig. 1b are given in Table 1. The topographic isolated measurement is available. catchment area for the location of the Ričice dam (gauging station The study area is located at the periphery of the Mediterra- BinFig. 1b), defined in accordance with surface morphology and nean climate belt, with a strong influence of continental climate. directions of flow in open watercourses is 190 km2, while the The Ričice reservoir is located only 20 km from the Adriatic Sea, mean annual measured discharge is 0.26 m3 s− 1.UsingTurc but it is separated from the sea by the Biokovo Mountain chain, (1954) equation and the methodology developed by Bonacci which has a maximum altitude of 1762 m a. s. l. (1999), for the definition of catchment areas, the mean annual The average annual air temperature in the catchment varies discharge for station B should be about 5 m3 s− 1, which means from 12 °C (northern higher part) to 14 °C (southern lower part) that more than 4.7 m3 s− 1 or about 95% of water from the with a minimum daily temperature in January below 0 °C, and a topographic catchment flow is groundwater. Clear evidence for maximum daily temperature in July and August higher than this is given by the gauging station E on the Vrljika River which 35 °C. The annual rainfall ranges from 750 to 2350 mm with an has a topographic catchment of about 25 km2 and a mean annual average of about 1500 mm.