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Quantification of Heavy Metals from A.M.D. Discharged into a Public Water Supply Dam in the Iberian Pyrite Belt (SW Spain) Using Centered Moving Average

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Abstract

In this work, the determination of moving averages is proposed as a method for quantifying metal, arsenic, and sulfate discharges into a water course undergoing acid mine drainage processes which flows into a public water supply dam in the Iberian Pyrite Belt. The analysis of the results obtained by applying moving averages shows that the highest metal and sulfate concentrations occur in October, coinciding with the first rainfall and the sponging of mine dumps, with November and December being the months when the highest contributions to the Andevalo Dam take place. The discharge of acid mine waters with its corresponding metal load into the Andevalo Dam means, for a single hydrological year, more than 6,000 t of sulfates, almost 600 t of iron, and 1 t of As, of special relevance for the hydrochemical quality of the stored waters. When they arrive at the dam, these metals precipitate, since the water pH is near 7, and remain latent in the bottom sediment as long as the chemical makeup of the dam water does not change.

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Acknowledgments

The present study results are a contribution of the CICYT REN2002-01897/HID project, granted by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Grupo de Geología Costera y Recursos Hídricos, Escuela Politécnica Superior, Universidad de Huelva, Ctra. Palos de la Frontera s/n, 21819, Palos de la Frontera, Huelva, Spain

    Jose Antonio Grande, Antonio Jiménez, María Luisa de la Torre & Tamara Gómez-Olivera

  2. Departamento Matemáticas, Escuela Politécnica Superior, Universidad de Huelva, Ctra. Palos de la Frontera s/n, 21819, Palos de la Frontera, Huelva, Spain

    Sixto Romero

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  1. Jose Antonio Grande
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  2. Antonio Jiménez
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  3. Sixto Romero
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  4. María Luisa de la Torre
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  5. Tamara Gómez-Olivera
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Correspondence to Jose Antonio Grande.

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Grande, J.A., Jiménez, A., Romero, S. et al. Quantification of Heavy Metals from A.M.D. Discharged into a Public Water Supply Dam in the Iberian Pyrite Belt (SW Spain) Using Centered Moving Average. Water Air Soil Pollut 212, 299–307 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-010-0343-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-010-0343-y

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