Factors and Mechanisms Affecting Seasonal Changes in the Prevalence of Microbiological Indicators of Water Quality and Nutrient Concentrations in Waters of the Białka River Catchment, Southern Poland.

Anna Lenart-Boroń,Łukasz Jelonkiewicz,Mirosław Żelazny,Anna A Wolanin

doi:10.1007/s11270-016-2931-y

Anna Lenart-Boroń, Łukasz Jelonkiewicz + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-016-2931-y

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Abstract

This 3-year study was aimed to understand the factors and mechanisms that cause the temporal changes in the concentration of microbiological indicators of water quality and nutrient concentration in selected sites of the Białka river catchment (southern Poland) situated in direct vicinity of the largest ski station in the region. The analysis comprised 35 sampling campaigns conducted in five sites. Water temperature, pH, and electrical conductivity were measured during sampling, laboratory analyses included determination of the selected nutrients content (NH4, NO3, NO2, PO4); and the number of mesophilic and psychrophilic bacteria, coliforms, fecal coliforms, and Escherichia coli. Based on the cluster analysis, the collected samples were grouped into three to four groups, depending on the most characteristic features. Seasonal variation was evident, showing the predominance of either anthropogenic or natural-environment factors, depending on the considered season. On the other hand, principal component analysis revealed clear effect of various forms of land use in different sites.

Highlights

Water is one of the natural resources, essential for all types of human activity; preserving its quality and condition has always been very important
Even though drinking water supply is based on groundwater, which is characterized by much higher quality than surface water, the latter represents as much as 85 % of Polish water resources; it is used as a main source of water supply for the Polish economy (Myszograj and Sadecka 2012)
The result of grouping by the Cluster analysis (CA) method is presented in Fig 2, while Table 2 shows the median values for physical and chemical parameters of water for individual groups designated by cluster analysis

Summary

Introduction

Water is one of the natural resources, essential for all types of human activity; preserving its quality and condition has always been very important. Water quality affects health and safety of its users, plant and animal production, economic production, economic development in both production and non-production sectors, and the condition of natural environment. Another important aspect is that Poland is among countries with the lowest freshwater resources per inhabitant in the European Union and Poland, next to the Czech Republic, Cyprus, and Malta, is one of the countries which experience Bwater stress,^ i.e., its annual water resources drop below 1700 m3 per inhabitant (Eurostat 2015).

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