Chapter 9
Assessment of Pollution of Water
Resources and Process of Pollution
Spreading
Jacek Kubiak and Sylwia Machula
Abstract Excessive fertilization of surface waters is an extremely important
problem in their protection. Urbanization, industrialization, intensive agricultural
production in the catchment area, as well as significant development of tourism, in
the absence of effective methods of lake protection, affect their high nutrient loads.
Therefore, in recent decades we have observed rapid eutrophication of lakes. The
multidimensional importance of lakes (e.g. natural, economic) is indisputable, hence
the need to protect them. The paper presents the results of long-term studies enabling
to trace the changes taking place in the lakes of West Pomerania. The susceptibility
of the studied lakes to degradation was assessed, as well as the role of the catchment area in this process. Analyzing the ecological systems of the catchment—lake,
the intensity of eutrophication of each reservoir was determined; trophy level of the
examined lakes was assessed. It was found that farming is the basic source of biogens
for the studied waters, and the degradation of water resources under the influence of
agricultural area pollution is a fundamental problem for their protection. The results
of lake research clearly indicate the need to develop plans for their protection, which
should include examining 7–8 times each year of each water body, which will allow
to determine the functioning of lake ecosystems and take appropriate protection
measures.
Keywords Eutrophication · Phosphorus · Nitrogen · Lakes · Poland
J. Kubiak (B) · S. Machula
Department of Commodity Science, Quality Assessment, Process Engineering and Human
Nutrition, West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, K. Królewicza, 71-550
Szczecin, Poland
e-mail: jacek.kubiak@zut.edu.pl
S. Machula
e-mail: sylwia.machula@zut.edu.pl
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
M. Zeleˇ náková et al. (eds.), Quality of Water Resources in Poland, Springer Water,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64892-3_9
191
Assessment of Pollution of Water
Resources and Process of Pollution
Spreading
Jacek Kubiak and Sylwia Machula
Abstract Excessive fertilization of surface waters is an extremely important
problem in their protection. Urbanization, industrialization, intensive agricultural
production in the catchment area, as well as significant development of tourism, in
the absence of effective methods of lake protection, affect their high nutrient loads.
Therefore, in recent decades we have observed rapid eutrophication of lakes. The
multidimensional importance of lakes (e.g. natural, economic) is indisputable, hence
the need to protect them. The paper presents the results of long-term studies enabling
to trace the changes taking place in the lakes of West Pomerania. The susceptibility
of the studied lakes to degradation was assessed, as well as the role of the catchment area in this process. Analyzing the ecological systems of the catchment—lake,
the intensity of eutrophication of each reservoir was determined; trophy level of the
examined lakes was assessed. It was found that farming is the basic source of biogens
for the studied waters, and the degradation of water resources under the influence of
agricultural area pollution is a fundamental problem for their protection. The results
of lake research clearly indicate the need to develop plans for their protection, which
should include examining 7–8 times each year of each water body, which will allow
to determine the functioning of lake ecosystems and take appropriate protection
measures.
Keywords Eutrophication · Phosphorus · Nitrogen · Lakes · Poland
J. Kubiak (B) · S. Machula
Department of Commodity Science, Quality Assessment, Process Engineering and Human
Nutrition, West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, K. Królewicza, 71-550
Szczecin, Poland
e-mail: jacek.kubiak@zut.edu.pl
S. Machula
e-mail: sylwia.machula@zut.edu.pl
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
M. Zeleˇ náková et al. (eds.), Quality of Water Resources in Poland, Springer Water,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64892-3_9
191