Assessing wastewater dilution in small rivers with high resolution conductivity probes

摘要

Installation and maintenance of flow gauging stations to assess wastewater dilution in smallncreeks is expensive. The method outlined in this paper provides a flexible and cheap alternativenfor situations with dilution factors smaller than 10 and unambiguous flow direction. It is shownnthat conductivity profiles from three sampling locations enable accurate identification of thendilution factor with an uncertainty of ^10–30%. Furthermore, much insight can be gained onnthe temporal behavior of both, the receiving water and the wastewater treatment system byncombined analysis of conductivity and temperature data. In this case study the data alsonenabled identification and tracking down of illegal polluters.