Determination of the amount of infiltration supply according to the data of low-water runoff in a tailing storage area

Abstract

Background. The relevance of the study lies in predicting the hydrogeological regime in the process of construction and operation of tailing storage areas. A complex study of the aeration zone and formation conditions of infiltration supply will make it possible to minimize the anthropogenic load on the hydrosphere and to develop measures for a reduction in the negative load on territories imposed to anthropogenic impact.Aim. To determine the amount of infiltration supply in a designed tailing storage area.Materials and methods. The studied territory is the southern part of the Talitsky section of the Verkhnekamsk salt deposit (Russian Federation). The studied objects included infiltration processes, weakly-permeable deposits, and drainage network. The applied methods involved mathematical modelling, mapping, and hydrometric works.Results. The conducted works reflect the regularities characteristic of the drain of small rivers in the region under study. Melted snow waters play a leading role in feeding surface watercourses. The most intensive inflow of rainwater, corresponding to the periods of summer and autumn rain floods, on the rivers of the study area occurred in July 2017 and in October–November 2017. Some differences in the annual volume of the run-off distribution of this water flow are likely to be determined by a change in the characteristics of the water-collecting area occurring as a result of cutting down forests and preparing the territory for construction of a mining and processing plant.