Water losses from a reservoir built in karst: the example of the Boljunčica reservoir (Istria, Croatia)

Bonacci, Ognjen; Rubinić, Josip

doi:10.1007/s00254-008-1599-z

Cited by 24 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Water rinses filling from the karst features and expands openings, which results in an increasing volume of water loss, its greater velocity and greater erosive potential. Ultimately, this results in the formation of collapsed sinkholes that serve as ponors with high capacity (Bonacci and Rubinić, 2009). …”

Section: Technical Aspects Of Groutingmentioning

confidence: 98%

Negative impacts of grouting on the underground karst environment

2009

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Grouting is a procedure in which grout is injected into different kinds of spaces. This procedure has had broad applications in modern civil engineering, especially in karst terrains, for nearly 200 years. Ingredients for the preparation of mortars and grouting suspensions include cement, clay and fillers, bentonite, asphalt, additives for stability and water. The building of dams in karst areas is always accompanied by the construction of large grout curtains. During their construction, thousands of tons of materials are injected into the karst underground. Some ingredients and chemicals used in the preparation of mortars and grouting suspensions may be toxic, neurotoxic or carcinogenic, and may be irritants or corrosives. Their use is dangerous to both humans and the environment. The toxic components can pollute karst aquifers and cause long-lasting hazardous consequences on karst underground species. Both physically and chemically, this material voraciously and quickly destroys underground habitats and kills an enormous number of rare, endangered and endemic species. This is an extremely expensive procedure although, in many cases, it is not very successful from the engineering perspective. When the construction of a grout curtain is completed, the hydrostatic pressure upgradients of the curtain are increased to higher levels than ever. These high hydraulic gradients accelerate the dissolutional expansion of fractures and bedding planes beneath the dam by several orders of magnitudes. As a result, intolerable leakage of karst reservoirs can occur over the lifetime of a dam site. This paper provides several examples of varying negative impacts of grouting on the hydrological and ecological regimes of the karst environment in the Dinaric karst.

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Section: Technical Aspects Of Groutingmentioning

confidence: 98%

Negative impacts of grouting on the underground karst environment

2009

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“…Bonacci (2004) has added the following hazardous consequences: (1) redistribution; (4) conflict regarding internationally shared karst aquifers; (5) water losses from reservoirs (Bonacci and Rubinić, 2009;Bonacci and Roje-Bonacci, 2012); and (6) instability of dams built in karsts (Dreybrodt et al, 2002). As previously stressed, in karst terrains the relationship between surface water and groundwater is very closely connected and interrelated.…”

Section: Possible Negative Consequences Of the Hepp Ombla Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The general conclusion is that the large hydraulic gradient imposed by the reservoir accelerates leakage. These high hydraulic gradients accelerate by orders of magnitudes through the dissolutional widening of fractures and bedding planes (Dreybrodt et al, 2002;Romanov et alm 2003;Turkmen, 2003;Karimi et al, 2007;Rogers, 2007;Unal et al, 2007;Kaufmann and Romanov, 2008;Bonacci and Rubinić, 2009;Hiller et al, 2011;Bonacci and RojeBonacci, 2012;Zubac and Bošković, 2012).…”

Section: Influence Of the Grout Curtainmentioning

confidence: 99%

The possible negative consequences of underground dam and reservoir construction and operation in coastal karst areas: an example of the hydro-electric power plant (HEPP) Ombla near Dubrovnik (Croatia)

Roje-Bonacci

Bonacci

2013

Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. The Ombla Spring represents a typical abundant coastal karst spring located in the vicinity of the town of Dubrovnik (Croatia). Its outlet is at an altitude of 2.5 m above sea level (m a.s.l.) and the water from it immediately flows into the Adriatic Sea. The minimum and maximum measured discharges are 3.96 m3 s−1 and 117 m3 s−1, respectively. The Trebišnjica River traverses through its catchment. The mean annual discharge, after the canalization of over 60 km of its watercourse with spray concrete (in the time span 1981–2011), is 24.05 m3 s−1. Before massive civil engineering work which took place during 1968–1980, the mean annual discharge was 28.35 m3 s−1. There is a project for construction of the hydro-electric power plant (HEPP) Ombla, which will exclusively use groundwater from the Ombla Spring karst aquifer. The underground dam will be constructed about 200 m behind the existing karst spring outflow in the karst massif, by injecting a grout curtain. The top of the grout curtain is planned to be at an altitude of 130 m a.s.l. This karst system is complex, sensitive, vulnerable and ecologically extremely valuable. The grout curtain, as well as the HEPP Ombla development, could lead to extremely dangerous technical and environmental consequences. In this paper some probable, negative consequences of the HEPP Ombla construction and development are explained. The HEPP Ombla could result in many large and hard-to-predict negative consequences which are specific for this particular HEPP, for example (1) severe spring discharge change; (2) unpredictable regional groundwater redistribution; (3) threatening of endemic fauna; (4) induced seismicity; (5) induced sinkholes; (6) occurrence of landslides; (7) conflict regarding internationally shared karst aquifers; (8) intensification of karst flash floods; (9) sea water intrusion in coastal karst aquifer; etc.

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“…Such knowledge is critically important if the site is in a karst region because of the intimate connection between surface water and groundwater in the region and the rapid pathways or channels likely to connect the surface water in the reservoir with the nearby karst groundwater (Bonacci and Rubinić, 2009;Milanović et al, 2010;van Beynen, 2011;Kazemi, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, the boundary of a catchment area in karst terrains may occasionally or permanently change due to both natural processes and anthropogenic interventions (Bonacci et al, 2016). Dam site selection in karst is always risky, and some inadequately investigated dams have never fully filled with water or failed to retain any water (Milanović, 2000;Dokmanovic et al, 2003;Bonacci and Rubinić, 2009;Milanović et al, 2010, van Beynen, 2011. Therefore, understanding the hydrogeological conditions, especially the recharge and discharge zones of the catchment, is essential for selecting an appropriate dam site.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The importance of understanding the hydrogeology and geochemistry of karst terrains for safely siting dams

Rezaei¹,

Karimi²,

Zhan³

2017

JCKS

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Dam site selection in karst regions is an extremely important issue in terms of dam safety and environmental impact. Groundwater in a karst aquifer near a selected dam site is deemed to be impacted greatly by the dam. This study uses the Kangir Reservoir of Iran as an example to illustrate the interrelationships of karst-groundwater condition, lithology of the dam reservoir, future climate changes, and overexploitation of water resources in the area. This study conducted a comprehensive analysis of water balance, groundwater flow, hydrochemistry, characteristics of geologic formations with respect to the quantity and quality of water, distribution of karst and evaporative formations in the catchment, and tectonic setting to highlight the importance of hydrogeological conditions on the water quality and quantity of the Kangir Reservoir. The main findings include, first, a major part of the highland karst aquifer in the Asmari Formation within the dam catchment does not drain into the dam reservoir. Instead, it leaks into the downstream Siahgel Region of the dam mainly along the Zarneh-Siahgel fault zone through the karstic Asmari Formation. Second, selecting the dam site on evaporative Gachsaran Formation causes degradation of water quality in the reservoir. The results of this study demonstrate that considering karst hydrogeological conditions is indispensable for dam site selection from the point of view of groundwater quantity and quality impacted by the dam.

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Water losses from a reservoir built in karst: the example of the Boljunčica reservoir (Istria, Croatia)

Cited by 24 publications

References 13 publications

Negative impacts of grouting on the underground karst environment

Negative impacts of grouting on the underground karst environment

The possible negative consequences of underground dam and reservoir construction and operation in coastal karst areas: an example of the hydro-electric power plant (HEPP) Ombla near Dubrovnik (Croatia)

The importance of understanding the hydrogeology and geochemistry of karst terrains for safely siting dams

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