The data set of the Warta discharges in Poznań (Poland) is one of the largest in the world as the daily observations of river stages have been conducted without interruptions since January, 1st, 1822. The Poznań measurement profile is situated in the 243.6 km and closes the catchment area of approximately 25 thousand square kilometers. The data used as the input in the paper were daily values of the Warta discharges in Poznań in the years 1822-2012. The climate in Poznań, a city situated in the centre of the Wielkopolska (Greater Poland) region, is relatively stable (Miler et al. 2005). Also the Warta River runoff shows considerable stability, especially in terms of mean annual values. Short-term trends are random in character. It was found that the Jeziorsko reservoir (total storage volume of 203 000 000 m3, officially put to use on September, 9th, 1987) significantly reduced daily variability of the flows and reduced peak discharge of the flood wave in the summer of 1997 on the Warta River at Poznań. The calculated periodogram for mean annual discharges of the Warta River in Poznań shows that there are main periodicities of ca. 10 year lengths. The research of the Provincial Inspectorate for Environmental Protection (WIOŚ) in Poznań shows a gradual improvement of water quality in the Warta River in Poznań.

Almost half (47%) of Latvian forest areas (3611 thousand ha) are considered degraded or partly improved by the hydro-technical drainage. The degradation is caused by very poor soil aeration due to waterlogged conditions. The location of waterlogged forests in Latvia is neither uniform nor occasional. Comparison of the abundance of waterlogged forests and the amount of atmospheric precipitation showed that the waterlogged forests are mainly located in areas with least precipitation. This hydrological phenomenon is connected with water discharge in drainage ditches: even during the dry summers of the years 1963, 1964, 1975, 1976 and 2002 in the drained forests with deep peat soils water flowed continuously in 1 m deep ditches and the discharge exceeded the amount of precipitation. Using the data from 182 sample plots in drained forests with the peat layer depth of 4.2 m, it was found, that coniferous forests are most productive in areas where the peat layer is most dense. One of the possible explanations for this phenomenon is that the most intensive paludification and formation of most dense peat layer are characteristic for the areas with intensive water discharge from confined aquifers. This discharge provides necessary mineral nutrients for the forest soil regardless of the peat layer thickness. The forest productivity may increase several times due to the enhancement of water movement in soil and to improved soil aeration by hydro-technical drainage. Also the flow regime of rivers connected with the drained areas changes considerably, mitigating extremely high and low flow events.

Potok Golawiecki (a river in the province of Silesia) is polluted in a way typical for the Upper Silesian industrial zone. It is the river into which the Ziemowit coal mine discharges its salt waters and it also receives municipal sewage. Changes in the values of selected indicators ofwater quality for Potok Golawiecki along its course were determined in the paper. It was found that the hydrochcmical character of the water in Potok Goławiecki depended strongly on salt water discharges from mines, which were the main factor disturbing the river's natural environment. The pollution of the river makes its water non-potable, and excludes its use even in industry