The aim of the study was to assess the content of soluble forms of fertilizer nutrients (N, P, K) in the cultivated soil layer up to 20 cm deep from agricultural land in the river valley, and the concentration of these nutrients in the surface wa-ters of the Raszynka River.
In the years 2016–2017, the surface water samples from the Raszynka Rriver (17 points) and soil (19 points) were col-lected from agricultural areas near the Raszynka River.
The surface water samples were collected once a month during the March–October 2016–2017. The contents of nitro-gen (Ntot, NO3-N and NH4-N), phosphorus (Ptot, PO4-P), total organic carbon (TOC and K and Ca) in soils and in waters were determined in the sample solutions.
It was shown that river water was of low quality due to the high concentration of nitrogen and phosphorus and electri-cal conductivity (EC). The most polluted were the waters of the lower section of the river located in the vicinity of arable land and agricultural built-up areas. The soluble forms of nutrients content in the cultivated soil layer was varied dependingon the kind of nutrient, way of agricultural land use, and the term of soil sampling. The content of dissolved P forms in the soil was the highest in autumn on arable lands after harvesting of vegetables (GO-W: 10.24 mg Ptotꞏkg–1 in D.M.) and this component may migrate with surface runoff and increase the risk of surface water eutrophication.
Bacteria from the Simkaniaceae family are intracellular parasites belonging to the Chlamydiales order, detected in surface waters, drinking water, chlorine water, and in wastewater. Its main representative, Simkania negevensis, is pathogenic to humans and animals, especially fishes, as it principally causes respiratory tract diseases. Bacteria from this family are also capable of surviving and existing in free-living amoebas, omnipresent in the natural environment, which makes them an additional risk for human and animal health. The aim of the present study was to search for representatives of this family in freshwaters from the Odra River and two municipal lakes (Rusałka and Goplana). Out of 100 water samples analysed, the sequence of bacteria of Simkaniaceae family was found just in 1 percent, because phylogenetic analysis revealed that the obtained OdraWCh30 sequence shows 93% similarity to Simkania negevensis strain Z as well as 87% similarity to Candidatus Syngnamydia salmonis isolate Ho-2008 and Candidatus Syngnamydia salmonis isolate VS10102006 and 84-85% similarity to endosymbiont of Xenoturbella westbladi, Simkaniaceae bacterium clone SM081012-5s and Candidatus Syngnamydia venezia strain Pi3-2. This is the first case of detecting sequence of bacteria of Simkaniaceae family in the aquatic environment in Poland.
The Netherlands has a long tradition in water management, mainly stemming from the geography of the country. The ‘struggle with water’ has been organised from medieval times by the water boards (waterschappen), which are the oldest democratic institutions in the Netherlands. Nowa-days the water boards, 27 in the whole of the Netherlands, are not only responsible for flood protec-tion and regulation of water levels, but for water quality management and waste water treatment as well. In the years in which the WFD implementation has been underway in the Netherlands, several issues have arisen. Cooperation between all levels of government is key. This requires as clear as possible divisions of competences between the various parties involved. It also takes much time, es-pecially in a process in which many matters have to be invented ‘on the fly’, such as criteria for des-ignating water bodies, ecological standards, and the formulation of MEP and GEP.
Loads of N-NO3, N-NH4, PO4 and BOD5 carried in surface waters of the upper Dunajec catchment basin (at the section in Krościenko) in the years 1985–1998 are presented in this paper. Water quality of the Biały Dunajec (in Szaflary), Czarny Dunajec (in Ludźmierz) and Dunajec (in Krościenko) was characterised. Annual loads discharged from the area per km2 of the catchment were calculated from mean annual flows (SQ) and concentrations of studied components in river waters. Concentration of N-NO3 in waters of the Biały Dunajec was more than two times higher and that of phosphates – over seven times higher than the respective concentrations in the Czarny Dunajec and Dunajec. Different population density, numerous tourists and low level of water and sewage infra-structure were responsible for these differences.
The very wet conditions of recent years in Europe have made it clear that measures will have to be taken in this century to prevent flooding. The question is how to manage groundwater in order to reduce the anticipated increased hydrological risk. Furthermore the surface water quality in the Netherlands is insufficient to meet the standards of the Water Framework Directive. The required improvements are difficult to reach, because the diffuse loads of nutrients from agricultural land can not be easily reduced. This demands for innovative solutions with respect to improve the surface wa-ter quality. In this pilot study the focus is on the purification in reed fields and use it as well to reduce the effects of the anticipated climate change. An experimental evidence on a practical scale is lacking and therefore in the woodland area of Lankheet in the eastern part of the Netherlands, 3 ha has been planted with reeds to purify the river water. The aim of the study is further to store the purified water in the groundwater in order to reduce climate change effects. For the hydrological situation a scenario study was set up, using a regional hydrological model to simulate the groundwater flow together with the water flow in a network of water courses. The analysis will give knowledge on the multifunc-tional use of such a system.
Flooding in the northern part of The Netherlands has caused serious economic threats to densely populated areas. Therefore a project has been carried out in a pilot area to assess the retention of water in two river basins as a way to reduce flooding. The physically-based groundwater and sur-face water model SIMGRO was used to model the hydrology of the basins. The model was calibrated using discharges and groundwater levels. Scenarios of measures to assess the possibility of retaining water in the basin were then defined and tested. The first measure was the retention of higher dis-charges using culverts or gates in the upstream part of the basin. The second measure was to make the streams shallower and thereby, increase flood plain storage. The last measure was flood water storage in a designated area in the downstream part of one basin. The analysis indicates that holding water in the upstream parts of the basins proved to be feasible and can result in significant reductions of peak flows.
Monitoring of surface waters within the transboundary section of the Western Bug River showed, that during 2014–2018, a significant excess of the maximum permissible concentration (MPC) was observed for some substances for fish ponds. As a result of this, the water in the river for these substances was rated as “dirty” in terms of purity and correspond-ed to water quality class IV, namely: phosphorus was observed to exceed the MPC at the observation point Ambukіv vil-lage in 2015 (9.7 times), for manganese – an excess of the MPC at the observation point Ambukіv village in 2018 (9.7 times) and in point Zabuzhzhia village in 2014 (7.9 times), 2015 (8.0 times), 2017 (7.1 times), 2018 (8.3 times); for the total iron – the exceeding of MPC at the observation point Ambukіv village in 2016 (5.95 times) and 2017 (6.13 times); at the observation point Ustilug town in 2016 (5.23 times); in the observation point Zabuzhzhia village in 2016 (9.44 times) and 2017 (5.27 times). The assessment of the surface waters based on the determination of the pollution factor showed that during the study period their quality did not deteriorate but did not meet the norms. In general, surface waters of the river correspond to the second class of quality and are characterized as “poorly polluted” waters by the level of pollution.