Concentration dynamics of soluble matter in a large water supply system and its implication as regards the propagation of accidental pollution in the system, using isotope techniques

The concentration dynamics of conservative pollutants in the water conveyance scheme of the Israel National Water Carrier was investigated by means of radioactive tracer techniques. The mixing behaviour of three shallow lakes is predominantly reflected by wind-induced currents and it can be described by a model consisting of a time delay in series with one or two time constants. The parameters of these mixed region models were found under different operational and environmental conditions. The turbulent dispersion was measured for two types of open channels. The computed values of the dispersion coefficient were close to experimental findings, confirming the agreement of the observed dispersion with Taylor's theory. Complete mixing was observed at a certain distance from the injection point, beyond which the dispersion coefficient becomes constant