312
J. P. Siwek
13.4.3 Agriculture
Agriculture in the Carpathian region tends to be low volume at the present time; the
use of fertilizer is very low relative to the rest of Poland. In the agricultural year
2016–2017, it did not exceed 100 kg NPK/ha [67]. The share of farmland has been
declining steadily since the 1990s towards more pastoral uses including meadows.
For example, in the upper Dunajec catchment (Tatra Mountains and Podhale region)
the share of farmland in the early 1990s exceeded 60%, while in 2004 it was only
20% [68]. According to Smoro´ n et al. [69], the Carpathian region is unlikely to face
the threat of stream water and groundwater pollution from nitrogen and phosphorus
compounds used in agriculture. This is confirmed by Smoro´ n et al. [69] via low
concentrations of NO 3
− and PO 4
3− in streams draining the agricultural areas of small
headwater sub-catchments in the upper catchments of Dunajec (Tatra Mountains and
Podhale region) and San (Bieszczady Mountains).
Research conducted in the Pogórze Wi´ snickie Foothills by Siwek [12], ˙
Zelazny
[70], Siwek et al. [71], and Jelonkiewicz et al. [72] has shown that unregulated
wastewater releases represent the main threat to stream water and groundwater quality
in rural areas in the Carpathians. Most rural households in the Stara Rzeka catchment,
for example, were connected to water mains but did not have access to sewer lines.
Sewage was collected in septic tanks, which were sometimes evacuated and the
sewage taken to processing facilities. This is illustrated by the fact that only 2% of
the water sold to customers in rural areas by the water company returned in the form
of sewage to treatment plants [73]. The vast majority of the sewage remained in each
given catchment. According to work by ˙
Zelazny [70], the migration of sewage from
leaky septic tanks into the groundwater may be observed in the form of mosaictype variability of nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in well water across the
Stara Rzeka catchment. Wastewater from the examined catchment was also found
to end up in area ditches and local stream channels. Some wastewater was detected
on fields in stream valleys. Streams burdened by wastewater possessed lower NO 3
−
and PO 4
3− concentration at higher discharge. The concentrations of these ions in
pre-event periods were high enough that the incoming event water—themselves rich
in NO 3
− and PO 4
3− —would cause a dilution [12].
13.4.4 Tourism-Generated Wastewater
The development of the tourism sector in the Carpathians is associated with threats to
the quality of stream water and groundwater. This problem is especially significant in
environmentally valuable areas characterized by substantial environmental diversity,
which are also attractive to tourists [74]. These areas include national parks, nature
reserves, landscape parks, and protected landscape areas, which cover more than
65% of the area of the Polish Carpathians [75]. Research conducted in 2010 in the
summer tourist season in Bieszczady National Park has shown an increase in the
J. P. Siwek
13.4.3 Agriculture
Agriculture in the Carpathian region tends to be low volume at the present time; the
use of fertilizer is very low relative to the rest of Poland. In the agricultural year
2016–2017, it did not exceed 100 kg NPK/ha [67]. The share of farmland has been
declining steadily since the 1990s towards more pastoral uses including meadows.
For example, in the upper Dunajec catchment (Tatra Mountains and Podhale region)
the share of farmland in the early 1990s exceeded 60%, while in 2004 it was only
20% [68]. According to Smoro´ n et al. [69], the Carpathian region is unlikely to face
the threat of stream water and groundwater pollution from nitrogen and phosphorus
compounds used in agriculture. This is confirmed by Smoro´ n et al. [69] via low
concentrations of NO 3
− and PO 4
3− in streams draining the agricultural areas of small
headwater sub-catchments in the upper catchments of Dunajec (Tatra Mountains and
Podhale region) and San (Bieszczady Mountains).
Research conducted in the Pogórze Wi´ snickie Foothills by Siwek [12], ˙
Zelazny
[70], Siwek et al. [71], and Jelonkiewicz et al. [72] has shown that unregulated
wastewater releases represent the main threat to stream water and groundwater quality
in rural areas in the Carpathians. Most rural households in the Stara Rzeka catchment,
for example, were connected to water mains but did not have access to sewer lines.
Sewage was collected in septic tanks, which were sometimes evacuated and the
sewage taken to processing facilities. This is illustrated by the fact that only 2% of
the water sold to customers in rural areas by the water company returned in the form
of sewage to treatment plants [73]. The vast majority of the sewage remained in each
given catchment. According to work by ˙
Zelazny [70], the migration of sewage from
leaky septic tanks into the groundwater may be observed in the form of mosaictype variability of nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in well water across the
Stara Rzeka catchment. Wastewater from the examined catchment was also found
to end up in area ditches and local stream channels. Some wastewater was detected
on fields in stream valleys. Streams burdened by wastewater possessed lower NO 3
−
and PO 4
3− concentration at higher discharge. The concentrations of these ions in
pre-event periods were high enough that the incoming event water—themselves rich
in NO 3
− and PO 4
3− —would cause a dilution [12].
13.4.4 Tourism-Generated Wastewater
The development of the tourism sector in the Carpathians is associated with threats to
the quality of stream water and groundwater. This problem is especially significant in
environmentally valuable areas characterized by substantial environmental diversity,
which are also attractive to tourists [74]. These areas include national parks, nature
reserves, landscape parks, and protected landscape areas, which cover more than
65% of the area of the Polish Carpathians [75]. Research conducted in 2010 in the
summer tourist season in Bieszczady National Park has shown an increase in the