Numerical simulation of pollutant diffusion and decay process after a water pollution incident in the Three Gorges Reservoir

We established a hydrodynamic model to simulate the pollutant transport and decay process in the case of a pollution incident in the sections of the Yangtze and the Jialing passing through the city area of Chongqing. The Boussinesq assumptions and the Navier-Stokes equations of incompressible fluid were applied to setting up the pollutant diffusion equations and the equations for the decay process. E. coli was taken as the example pollutant, and chloride dosage, light, temperature and ultraviolet intensity were considered in the equations for bacterial decay process. The calculated values of the fluid velocities in the two rivers agree well with corresponding measured results, indicating an ideal accuracy of the model. In simulation, the concentration of E. coli in water was assumed to be zero before the accident. The upriver boundary velocity was ?1.35 m/s for the Jialing flow and 1.75 m/s for the Yangtze flow, and the downriver boundary was water depth set at 0. Simulation results show that the bacteria are transported downstream along the riverbank. A long and narrow pollutant belt develops at 12 h after the start of the accident ascribed to the quick longitudinal transfer. After the pollution sources are cut off, the pollutant concentration decreases slowly, mostly by advection and diffusion, suggesting inadequate self-purification ability of the rivers and the necessity of effective decontaminating measures in the case of a pollution incident. The model can be a useful tool for understanding the polluting situations of an improper discharge incident and evaluating the effects of decontaminating measures for the water body of the Three Gorges Reservoir.

We established a hydrodynamic model to simulate the pollutant transport and decay process in the case of a pollution incident in the sections of the Yangtze and the Jialing passing through the city area of Chongqing. The Boussinesq assumptions and the Navier-Stokes equations of incompressible fluid were applied to setting up the pollutant diffusion equations and the equations for the decay process. E. colt was taken as the example pollutant, and chloride dosage, light, temperature and ultraviolet intensity were considered in the equations for bacterial decay process. The calculated values of the fluid velocities in the two rivers agree well with corresponding measured results, indicating an ideal accuracy of the model. In simulation, the concentration of E. colt in water was assumed to be zero before the accident. The and 1.75 m/s for the Yangtze flow, and the downriver boundary was upriver boundary velocity was -1.35 m/s for the Jialing flow water depth set at 0. Simulation results show that the bacteria are transported downstream along the riverbank. A long and narrow pollutant belt develops at 12 h after the start of the accident ascribed to the quick longitudinal transfer. After the pollution sources are cut off, the pollutant concentration decreases slowly, mostly by advection and diffusion, suggesting inadequate self-purification ability of the rivers and the necessity of effective decontaminating measures in the case of a pollution incident, The model can be a useful tool for understanding the polluting situations of an improper discharge incident and evaluating the effects of decontaminating measures for the water body of the Three Gorges Reservoir.