4 Anthropogenic Water Reservoirs in Poland
77
and other aquatic organisms in this lake live is rich in nutrients. In the eutrophic
environment, there is a small population of predators and quite large specimens of
tench, crucian carp and carp are present as well. The fish in the reservoir are unsuitable
for human consumption owing to the high content of toxic metals in the meat and
liver of some fish species present there, as found by Kostecki [40].
4.5.5 Salinisation
The degrading effect of salinity on the aquatic environment is particularly common
in industrialised and urban areas [41]. The presence of large amounts of salt in water
has an adverse effect on the development of most plants, but on the other hand, it
stimulates the growth of saltwater plant species on the shores of saline anthropogenic
lakes. This is the most vivid manifestation of salinity caused by the anthropogenically
controlled salt cycle. Complex natural and man-made conditions determine the level
of salinity of limnic waters as exemplified by a number of water bodies in Poland,
but on the Silesian Upland and its outskirts, the problem of increase in water salinity
is exceptionally pronounced [18].
Surface water salinity is typically found in urban and industrialised areas, but the
values found in the anthropogenic water bodies of the Silesian Upland and on its
outskirts are many times higher due to the supply of saline groundwater, which is
caused by the draining of underground mines. While the salinity of surface waters
considered natural in the region reflects concentrations of chlorides ranging from
around ten to several dozen mg/dm
3 , the impact of urbanisation, industrialisation
and transport results in an increase in Cl-concentration levels to even several hundred
mg/dm
3 . As a result of the draining of mines, water reaches the surface with mineralisation levels ranging from around 0.5 g/dm
3 through several or several dozen g/dm
3
to even 372 g/dm
3 in subsequent hydrogeochemical zones of the Upper Silesian Coal
Basin sedimentary basin [42]. Saline water is retained in reservoirs near mines, from
which it is dosed into surface watercourses within the Vistula and Oder River basins,
where this water is diluted, but still causes an increase in mineralisation and thus also
salinity levels. Similarly, high water salinity parameters are found in small reservoirs
used as settling tanks, waste dumps, decanting tanks, etc., where concentrations
of chlorides, sulphates and total dissolved solids reach levels of several thousand
mg/dm
3 , several hundred mg/dm
3 and more than ten thousand mg/dm
3 , respectively.
The heightened salinity of surface waters caused by the inflow of water originating from the mining drainage of salt-bearing Miocene or Carboniferous formations results in an increase in the salinity of the water retained in water bodies, also
those located outside mining areas. The largest flooded mineral working in Poland in
terms of water storage capacity (from 42 to 94 hm
3 ), i.e. the Dzier˙ zno Du˙ ze Reservoir,
exhibits a chloride content of 1.7 g/dm
3 , while the hydrogeochemical background
for water in the region is several dozen mg Cl/dm
3 . On the other hand, the increase in
the salinity of water in the Pławniowice Reservoir indicates several possible sources
of salt supply, the most probable of which is salt leaching into water from saline
77
and other aquatic organisms in this lake live is rich in nutrients. In the eutrophic
environment, there is a small population of predators and quite large specimens of
tench, crucian carp and carp are present as well. The fish in the reservoir are unsuitable
for human consumption owing to the high content of toxic metals in the meat and
liver of some fish species present there, as found by Kostecki [40].
4.5.5 Salinisation
The degrading effect of salinity on the aquatic environment is particularly common
in industrialised and urban areas [41]. The presence of large amounts of salt in water
has an adverse effect on the development of most plants, but on the other hand, it
stimulates the growth of saltwater plant species on the shores of saline anthropogenic
lakes. This is the most vivid manifestation of salinity caused by the anthropogenically
controlled salt cycle. Complex natural and man-made conditions determine the level
of salinity of limnic waters as exemplified by a number of water bodies in Poland,
but on the Silesian Upland and its outskirts, the problem of increase in water salinity
is exceptionally pronounced [18].
Surface water salinity is typically found in urban and industrialised areas, but the
values found in the anthropogenic water bodies of the Silesian Upland and on its
outskirts are many times higher due to the supply of saline groundwater, which is
caused by the draining of underground mines. While the salinity of surface waters
considered natural in the region reflects concentrations of chlorides ranging from
around ten to several dozen mg/dm
3 , the impact of urbanisation, industrialisation
and transport results in an increase in Cl-concentration levels to even several hundred
mg/dm
3 . As a result of the draining of mines, water reaches the surface with mineralisation levels ranging from around 0.5 g/dm
3 through several or several dozen g/dm
3
to even 372 g/dm
3 in subsequent hydrogeochemical zones of the Upper Silesian Coal
Basin sedimentary basin [42]. Saline water is retained in reservoirs near mines, from
which it is dosed into surface watercourses within the Vistula and Oder River basins,
where this water is diluted, but still causes an increase in mineralisation and thus also
salinity levels. Similarly, high water salinity parameters are found in small reservoirs
used as settling tanks, waste dumps, decanting tanks, etc., where concentrations
of chlorides, sulphates and total dissolved solids reach levels of several thousand
mg/dm
3 , several hundred mg/dm
3 and more than ten thousand mg/dm
3 , respectively.
The heightened salinity of surface waters caused by the inflow of water originating from the mining drainage of salt-bearing Miocene or Carboniferous formations results in an increase in the salinity of the water retained in water bodies, also
those located outside mining areas. The largest flooded mineral working in Poland in
terms of water storage capacity (from 42 to 94 hm
3 ), i.e. the Dzier˙ zno Du˙ ze Reservoir,
exhibits a chloride content of 1.7 g/dm
3 , while the hydrogeochemical background
for water in the region is several dozen mg Cl/dm
3 . On the other hand, the increase in
the salinity of water in the Pławniowice Reservoir indicates several possible sources
of salt supply, the most probable of which is salt leaching into water from saline