In view of the problem of excessive manganese concentrations in the Xi'an Jinpen Reservoir during the flood season in 2017, the vertical distribution of manganese in density currents and its occurrence pattern were monitored at multiple monitoring sections along the upstream reaches to the main basin. The influences of density currents plunging into the reservoir on the migration and transformation of Mn were studied, and sedimentation, output, and deposition of manganese in the reservoir water were also specifically estimated during a single, typical storm runoff process. Devices for avoiding high turbidity and high load inflows in rainfall events were proposed. The results showed that significant increases of total manganese were induced by high-turbidity inflows, which largely degraded water quality during rainfall events. From 12 to 14 October, 9.11 tons of total manganese were transported into the reservoir during a single rainfall event, and the pollution conditions were largely remitted by flood discharges with an output of 6.22 tons; thus, the net deposition (manganese) was 1.47 tons. The manganese content and morphological changes along the upper reaches of the reservoir indicated that soil erosion occurred during the continuous rainfall process, and this caused a large amount of particulate pollutants to flow into the water body with the runoff. More than 70% of the total manganese in the water was in the iron-manganese oxide bound state. Correlation analysis was conducted with particles of different particle size ranges, and granular manganese particle sizes were about 2-20 μm. The findings indicate that when flood discharges with turbidity currents occur, this can effectively reduce the load of pollutants and the safety risks of water.
Keywords: manganese form; manganese pollution; migration; pollution load; storm runoff; water source reservoir.