Using elemental profiles in the sediment of a lake used to supply drinking water to understand the impacts of urban stormwater recharge
J. L. Vanderzalm A E , P. J. Dillon A , G. J. Hancock B , C. Leslie B , J. Dighton A , C. Smith C and G. Pearce D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A CSIRO Land and Water, Water for a Healthy Country Research Flagship, Waite Laboratories, Waite Road, Urrbrae, SA 5064, Australia.
B CSIRO Land and Water, Water for a Healthy Country Research Flagship, Black Mountain Laboratories, Clunies Ross Street, Black Mountain, ACT 2601, Australia.
C South Australian Environment Protection Authority, 11 Helen Street, Mount Gambier, SA 5290, Australia.
D South Australian Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, 11 Helen Street, Mount Gambier, SA 5290, Australia.
E Corresponding author. Email: joanne.vanderzalm@csiro.au
Marine and Freshwater Research 64(6) 493-506 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF12215
Submitted: 10 August 2012 Accepted: 18 January 2013 Published: 12 April 2013
Abstract
The regional city of Mount Gambier, South Australia, recharges stormwater directly into the underlying unconfined, karstic Gambier Limestone aquifer. This aquifer provides the majority of recharge to Blue Lake, a groundwater-fed volcanic crater lake, used for Mount Gambier’s drinking water supply. However, concern remains regarding the risk posed by contaminants within stormwater, in particular when stormwater recharge may ultimately contribute to a source of drinking-water supply. The present research examined the role of the annual calcite precipitation in the lake, in protecting the quality of its water supply, by examining the composition of particulate matter in the lake and on the lake bottom. The sediment did not reveal negative impacts of stormwater recharge, but did highlight the increase in erosion as a result of settlement and extensive land clearing for agriculture at the time of settlement. Analysis of lake-floor sediment revealed increased accumulation of the lithogenic elements within the lake-floor sediment during this interval, owing to the cleansing capacity of the calcite precipitation cycle. Extraction of water from Blue Lake for water supply has resulted in a reduced water residence time in the lake and a three-fold increase in the accumulation of calcium carbonate on the lake floor.
Additional keywords: aquifer recharge, Blue Lake, carbonate, groundwater, Mount Gambier.
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