The main scientific goal of this work is the presentation of the role of selected geophysical methods (Ground-Penetrating Radar GPR and Electrical Resistivity Tomography ERT) to identify water escape zones from retention reservoirs. The paper proposes a methodology of geophysical investigations for the identification of water escape zones from a retention fresh water lake (low mineralised water). The study was performed in a lake reservoir in Upper Silesia. Since a number of years the administrators of the lake have observed a decreasing water level, a phenomenon that is not related to the exploitation of the object. The analysed retention lake has a maximal depth between 6 and 10 m, depending on the season. It is located on Triassic carbonate rocks of the Muschelkalk facies. Geophysical surveys included measurements on the water surface using ground penetration radar (GPR) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) methods. The measurements were performed from watercrafts made of non-metal materials. The prospection reached a depth of about 1 to 5 m below the reservoir bottom. Due to large difficulties of conducting investigations in the lake, a fragment with an area of about 5,300 m 2, where service activities and sealing works were already commenced, was selected for the geophysical survey. The scope of this work was: (1) field geophysical research (Ground-Penetrating Radar GPR and Electrical Resistivity Tomography ERT with geodesic service), (2) processing of the obtained geophysical research results, (3) modelling of GPR and ERT anomalies on a fractured water reservoir bottom, and (4) interpretation of the obtained results based on the modelled geophysical anomalies. The geophysical surveys allowed for distinguishing a zone with anomalous physical parameters in the area of the analysed part of the retention lake. ERT surveys have shown that the water escape zone from the reservoir was characterised by significantly decreased electrical resistivities. Diffraction hyperboles and a zone of wave attenuation were observed on the GPR images in the lake bottom within the water escape zone indicating cracks in the bottom of the water reservoir. The proposed methodology of geophysical surveys seems effective in solving untypical issues such as measurements on the water surface.

The research paper reviews issues associated with the impact of groundwater flow on soil characteristics and parameters, hence, the entire structure of a building set on it.Water seepage through the ground, building subsoil or structural elements of buildings made of soil affects the soil skeleton and may lead to changes in the arrangement of individual grains relative to each other, i.e., a modified soil structure. Soil solid phase (soil skeleton) deformations resulting from seepage forces are called seepage-induced deformations. The article characterizes typical seepage-induced deformations and specifies a criterion defining the beginning of the phenomenon. The case study involved using data on cracks and deformations in a historic building, as well as water seepage in its subsoil. Seepage was analysed, and zones where the seepage process initiation criterion was exceeded, were determined based on subsoil water level monitoring data. The determined zones coincide with the location of building cracks and scratches and confirm the possible cause behind building damage.

Structural solutions in terms of fish ladders and the use of natural materials to construct them often raise concerns regarding the possibility of using the standard calculation methods. The fish ladder being designed on the Wisłok river consists of three pools, separated from each other by baffles made of rock boulders. The purpose of this study was to analyze water surface profiles for fish ladder at specific values of flow rates. The paper presents the results of hydraulic calculations under the conditions of constant flow rate based on the concept of a minimum specific energy. According to this method, water flow through boulders is critical. Thus, it does not take into account head losses, which are hard to estimate and which are the integral part of typical calculation methods, e.g. the use of equations to determine the flow rate of a weir. An additional advantage of this method is that there is no need to assume the flow pattern of one specific weir. Verification calculations of the water depths were conducted using the HEC–RAS software, under an assumption of an one-dimensional steady water flow. Water depths in the fish ladder, calculated using both methods, were similar, despite the adopted different calculation concepts, and can be used in ichthyologic analyses.