Quantifying flood-water impacts on a lake water budget via volume-dependent transient stable isotope mass balance

Abstract. Interactions between groundwater and surface water are often overlooked in lake water budgets, even though groundwater can significantly contribute to the total annual water inputs to a lake. Isotope mass balance models have seen significant developments in the last decade for assessing the spatial and temporal variability of hydrological processes in lakes but are generally applied assuming steady-state. While this assumption is generally acceptable for long-term water balances of large lakes, it may be less appropriate for lakes which undergo strong seasonality of hydrological processes and meteorological conditions. In this study, a volume-dependent transient isotopic mass balance model was developed for an artificial lake (named Lake A) in Canada, and in a context where direct measurement of surface water fluxes is difficult, if not impossible. This lake typically receives important inputs of flood-water during the spring freshet period, as a hydraulic connection with a large watershed establishes each year. Quantification of the water fluxes to Lake A allowed to highlight the impacts of flood-water inputs over the annual water budget. The isotopic mass balance model revealed that groundwater and surface water inputs respectively account for 71 % and 28 % of the total annual water inputs to Lake A, which demonstrates its dependence on groundwater. An important part of these groundwater inputs is likely to correspond to flood-derived surface water due to bank storage. On an annual timescale, Lake A was found to be resilient to surface water pollution and sensitive to groundwater quantity and quality changes. There is however a likelihood that the resilience to surface water pollution is lower from April to August, as important water inputs originating from Lake DM contribute to the water balance via direct and indirect inputs (i.e., from bank storage). This suggests that the surface water fluxes between Lake DM and Lake A did not only have an impact on the dynamic of Lake A during springtime but also significantly influenced the long-term dynamics of Lake A. These findings can help anticipating the impacts of variation in the intensity and/or duration of future flooding events on lakes' water quality. From a more global perspective, this knowledge is useful for establishing regional-scale management strategies for maintaining water quality at flood-affected lakes in a context of land-use and climate changes.