Variation characteristics of water and sediment of managed aquifer recharge with the Yellow River water in the piedmont sand gravel channel in the North China Plain

A two-dimensional sand tank model was designed to investigate the water distribution and sediment clogging of the Yellow River water during the seepage recharge process of the piedmont sand gravel channel in the North China Plain. Due to the high permeability of the sand gravel medium, only infiltration deep runoff (IDR) and surface runoff (SR) occurred in the sand tank experiment. The increase in water released did not improve the effective recharge. The IDR accounted for 65–85% of the water released. After clogging appeared, the value decreased to 15–30%. More than 96% of suspended solids were deposited in the surface and upper areas of the sand tank, among which the sand gravel surface covered by the thin clay layer formed by suspended particles was the main cause of the change in the distribution of IDR and SR. A rubber dam can promote the conversion of high velocity SR to low velocity lateral shallow runoff (LSR) by 25–30% while increasing the deposition mass of suspended particles in the sand tank. The rationality of the sand tank model was verified by the numerical model, and the fitting degree between the simulated and the measured results was greater than 0.9. HIGHLIGHTS Only infiltration deep runoff and surface runoff appear during recharging of the piedmont sand gravel channel.; The suspended solids concentration and the medium infiltration capacity have a major effect on water and sediment movement processes in the recharging.; The rubber dam built on the riverbed surface can promote the conversion of surface runoff to lateral shallow runoff.;