Approaches to substantiating the placement of industrial facilities within the sanitary protection zones of surface watercourses

Introduction. The article considers an approach to be used to delineate the source water protection area for the surface water bodies without putting manufacturing plants within the delineated areas out of action. The approach is based on the assessment of the disposals produced by plants on the water quality at the surface water intake point during the plant’s accident-free operation and both accidents within and beyond the design basis.

Materials and methods. The article used the water protection area laws and regulations, the data observed of the disposal dispersion in the large rivers, and the original articles presented in databases and information systems: RSCI, CyberLeninka, Scopus, Web of Science. The solute transport analytical solutions for the dilution of the linear source in the flow serve as the methodological framework.

Results. The article results have shown the local disposal into the river to form dispersion halo. Due to the specific dispersion processes, an area of a strip-like shape on the opposite shore can be formed where an anthropogenic influence is not present or negligible. This can be considered the background for the safe cooperative operation of the water intake and a manufacturing plant located within the water protection area.

Limitations. The present article outlines the analytical approach for estimating the dilution of wastewater in river waters. The methodologies proposed are subject to several constraints, including the assumption of a constant river channel width and profile, steady discharge of contaminated wastewater, absence of water inflow losses or replenishment, lack of interaction with suspended particulate matter, uniform mixing across all segments of the river, and neglect of wind-induced effects on pollutant dispersion near the water surface. Failure to meet any of these assumptions necessitates recourse to more sophisticated numerical modelling techniques for accurate calculation.

Conclusion. The use of the approach presented in the paper allows justifying the manufacturing plant’s operation within the source water protection area for the surface water bodies.

Compliance with ethical standards. The opinion of the ethics committee is not required.

Contribution:
Nikulenkov A.M. – the concept and design of the study, collection and processing of materials, writing the text;
Yeremin G.B. – the concept and design of the study, approval of the final version of the article, responsibility for the integrity of all parts of the article;
Stepaikina P.V. – the concept and design of the study, collection and processing of materials, editing;
Borisova D.S. – collection and processing of materials, editing;
Mozzhukhina N.A. – writing the text, editing;
Isaev D.S. – editing.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgement. The study had no sponsorship.

Received: May 3, 2024 // Accepted: June 19, 2024 / Published: September 10, 2024