THE EFFECT OF THE SLATINA ALUMINUM FACTORY OPERATION ON THE WATER TABLE IN THE VICINITY OF THE OLT RIVER

Abstract

The largest aluminum factory in Eastern Europe is located near Slatina. Before Romania acceded to the EU in 2007, many environmental protection rules were omitted in this area. The paper analyzes the water table pollution along the Olt River for about 15 km. There are considered the tributary flows on the river, the concentration of discharged pollutants, and the pumping regime from the catchment front. It is built at about 500 m from the river, on the left bank, parallel to the river, and consists of 44 wells, of which only 34 are functional today. The flow from the phreatic aquifer is analyzed for a measured hydraulic conductivity of 35 m/day and transmissivity 350 m2/day. The main directions of pollutant flow and transmission were determined. The mathematical and numerical modeling of the water pollution in the water table is illustrated and compared with the experimental results obtained based on the measurements of the flow rates and concentration of pollutants on the Olt River during one year. The results are presented in 3 variants: tributary flow on the river at average values with pollutant concentrations below 10 mg/l and continuous pollutions, average flow on the river with higher pollutant concentrations between 15-35 mg/l and continuous pollution, and the variant with concentrated pollution, step type of 100-150 mg/l, for 8 hours. Finally, some conclusions are presented.