Iron and manganese accumulation in drinking water reservoirs is a challenging issue andshould be controlled to prevent their adverse effects on human health. Accumulation ofthese elements not only clogs pipeline systems but also causes stains on fixtures and laundry.Also, high concentrations of iron and manganese may lead to various health problems wheningested. This study focuses on the release mechanism of iron and manganese from sedimentsto the water column in reservoirs and investigates methods to prevent this release. Effectsof hypoxia, hypolimnetic aeration, alkalinity of water, and thermal stratification on iron andmanganese concentrations were investigated through laboratory experiments. Experimentsdone simulating the water column showed that hypoxia caused more dissolution of ferrousiron when compared with that of manganese. Accordingly, aeration of the water column inhypoxic conditions lead to a significant decrease in ferrous iron concentrations (in our casereaching zero). However, manganese and total iron levels were not affected by the aeration ofthe water column. Alkalinity level of the water column was observed to have a great effect onthe solubility of iron and manganese. Concentrations of total Fe and total Mn measured foracidic (pH = 5) conditions were considerably greater than concentrations measured at neutralconditions. As for alkaline (pH = 11) conditions, the opposite was observed with measuredconcentrations of total Fe and total Mn being lower than the ones measured for neutral conditions. Thermal stratification had an enhancing effect on the solubility of both iron and manganese ions. While aeration of the stratified water column slightly decreased the concentrationsof Total Fe and Mn, it had a greater impact on decreasing $Fe^{2+}$ concentrations.