Sediment transport and surface water quality modeling of river-lake systems in Northwestern Ontario

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Effluent discharge from mining industries into river-lake systems and its impact on surface water quality in Northwestern Ontario has drawn considerable attention due to recent mining activities and land disruptions in this region. DST Consulting Engineers with a strong R&D department (3 PhDs and 7 Scientists) is currently experiencing many challenges in modelling the transport of fine solids and pollutants such as pH, excess temperature, and dissolved oxygen discharged from tailing ponds or constructed impoundments. Numerical modeling becomes more challenging once the impact of ice cover on the transport of those parameters is included. The present proposal is defined to address the needs of DST Consulting Engineers by modeling pollution transport in river-lake systems, particularly in Northwestern Ontario. The foremost objective of the present research project is to use suitable numerical packages to model the hydrodynamics of the river flow and to simulate the transport of different types of pollutant in a river-lake system. DST personnel conducted many field studies to model and monitor the pollution transport in number of projects. The system of numerical models will be validated with the existing field measurements. Validated models will be used to predict pollution transport in different extreme conditions. The outcome of this research project will offer DST Consulting Engineers and Canada a validated model that can be adapted for all mine and mineral industries. Making industrial projects economically viable for our society will have a dramatic impact on public overall economy. Additionally, the optimized results from this study prevent additional fresh water intake from either surface water (i.e, rivers and lakes) or ground water resources. The project's outcome will open up many opportunities for mining and mineral industries to adopt the validated model for different setups and configuration.