Prediction of Water Quality in Stratified Reservoirs

A transient mathematical model which couples the conservation of heat and mass equations is developed and solved numerically. Vertical temperature and concentration profiles within the reservoir and outlet temperature and concentrations for conservative and nonconservative substances are obtained. The results of the predictive model are compared to laboratory measurements of a conservative dye tracer and to field measurements of dissolved oxygen in the Fontana Reservoir during 1 yr of operation. Good results for the laboratory conditions are obtained. Direct comparison with field measurements is limited by the lack of field data on biochemical oxygen demand. However, the trends shown for dissolved oxygen as a function of time are satisfactorily reproduced.