Abstract: During the process of the percolation, muddy water seepage can form a sediment deposit layer of weak hydraulic permeability to reduce the water leakage, which is different from the clear water seepage. According to the above muddy water seepage theory, the present study proposes that diversion of the muddy water from the Yellow River to the reservoir and then let the water to form the sediment deposit on the bottom to reduce leakage. Firstly, based on the analysis of characteristics of the silt of muddy Yellow River water, the research discusses the influence of the sediment deposit formed by the muddy Yellow River water on the leakage for the plain reservoir. Secondly, through the laboratory test, we get the correlation between the leakage and the sediment deposit formed by different water heads, and finally obtain the certain thickness of the deposit layer with the best impervious effect. Finally, the research results are applied to the seepage control of the plain reservoir; the theoretical calculation and the operation of the project evaluation show that the theory has satisfied effect and can be applied to other similar projects.

Key words: muddy water seepage, plain reservoir, anti-seepage, sediment