Determination of the yield of thermal mineral springs emerging into the Bečva River in the Teplice Spa

Abstract

The mineral water in the Teplice Spa emerges into the Bečva River bed from the hypogenic karst formed by Palaeozoic limestones. Recently the focus on the hydrological and hydrogeological conditions of the mineral springs issues from the planning of the Skalička Dam whose reservoir is believed to be interconnected with the karstic formation and may influence the regime of mineral waters in the spa. One of the related particular problems is to determine the discharge of the mineral water which emerges into the Bečva River in the river reach along the Teplice Spa. The knowledge about the emerging mineral water discharge is crucial for further assessment of an impact of planned reservoir. The most challenging issue and novelty of the study was to determine a relatively small increment of the discharge in the Bečva river, when the magnitude of the error of determination was comparable to the determined discharge. Therefore, for the assessment of the discharge three methods were applied, namely measurements by the classical current meter, measurements using the Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler and evaluation of the measurements of electrical conductivity along the river reach. The analysis of obtained results and comparison of the obtained methods indicate the emerging discharge between 250 and 500 l/s with realistic value about 350 l/s. The study shows quite good agreement of results determined by individual methods which justifies the methodology used and is good guidance for similar studies.

The mineral water in the Teplice Spa emerges into the Bečva River bed from the hypogenic karst formed by Palaeozoic limestones. Recently the focus on the hydrological and hydrogeological conditions of the mineral springs issues from the planning of the Skalička Dam whose reservoir is believed to be interconnected with the karstic formation and may influence the regime of mineral waters in the spa. One of the related particular problems is to determine the discharge of the mineral water which emerges into the Bečva River in the river reach along the Teplice Spa. The knowledge about the emerging mineral water discharge is crucial for further assessment of an impact of planned reservoir. The most challenging issue and novelty of the study was to determine a relatively small increment of the discharge in the Bečva river, when the magnitude of the error of determination was comparable to the determined discharge. Therefore, for the assessment of the discharge three methods were applied, namely measurements by the classical current meter, measurements using the Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler and evaluation of the measurements of electrical conductivity along the river reach. The analysis of obtained results and comparison of the obtained methods indicate the emerging discharge between 250 and 500 l/s with realistic value about 350 l/s. The study shows quite good agreement of results determined by individual methods which justifies the methodology used and is good guidance for similar studies.