Abstract

It is well known that the inflow of rainwater and the infiltration of groundwater to sewerage (I/I) increase the sewage and burden sewage treatment plants and lower their treatment efficiency. Therefore, it is important to estimate the amount of I/I. In this study, well groundwaters, public water supplies (PWSs), and sewage and rainwater channels were investigated to check whether oxygen and deuterium isotopes could be used as a tool for I/I estimation. This study shows that the isotopic composition of PWS in Jeonju area is very consistent over time and distinctly lighter than the circulating local rainwater (CLR) because it is supplied from Yongdam Dam, which is located about 40 km inland to the east in the mountainous area. Considering the fact that sewage mostly originates from the PWS, we could calculate the amounts of CLR in the sewerage from a monitoring station using unaffected rainwater and tap water as mixing end members. The calculation revealed that the CLR fraction ranged from 50% to 90% depending on observation time. This is well supported by the dilute natures of the sewages at the station. The fraction of PWS in investigated well waters were about 46%, indicating that leaking of PWS is very serious and is an important groundwater source in the study area. Since the infiltration of such groundwater may not alter the isotopic composition of sewage significantly, the actual I/I would be much greater than the calculated ones.

Keywords Deokjin Park, oxygen-deuterium isotope, public water supply and sewerage, groundwater, Infiltration/Inflow (I/I)