This paper presents the analysis and assessment of water losses in water distribution systems of three water supply companies operating water supply networks in the area of effect of underground mining. The analysis of water losses was conducted based on numerous indices allowing for obtaining objective information on the condition of the water supply system. The method of the analysis of percentage water loss index was extended by the methods of determination of losses according to the International Water Association. The results of the analysis lead to the conclusion that with regular actions, the companies have reduced water losses in recent years to a level considered to be good compared to national data and average compared to international standards. The value of the failure intensity index for all companies in 2011 was over 1.0 while currently it is about 0.5. The decrease in Non-Revenue Water basic loss index (NRWB) from more than 20% for all analysed companies in 2008 to a few percent in 2017 and the decrease in Infrastructure Leakage Index (ILI) for companies A and C to less than 2.0 are evidence of the good condition of the network. This is also confirmed by the unit water loss index per capita, with its value in 2017 being 9.1 dm3/(inhabitant day) for company A, 11 dm3/(inhabitant·day) for B and 7.4 dm3/(inhabitant·day) for C. The several years of analysis and evaluation of numerous indices of water loss presented in the paper reveals the effectiveness of the adopted strategies of reducing leakages in the distribution system. It should be emphasized that the analysed companies have been involved in comprehensive initiatives aimed at reducing water leakages, resulting in a substantial reduction in water losses. GIS monitoring systems and databases are particularly helpful in reducing water losses. The basis of the activities is monitoring of flow and pressure in water supply networks and active leakage control. Network zoning with simultaneous observation of minimum night-time flows allows for preliminary location of the failure. Equipping companies with special leakage detection devices such as geophones, stethophones or correlators enables quick detection of leakages. The next step is to replace water meters with more and more accurate ones and to implement radio reading of water meters. All analysed companies perform systematic replacement of old steel and cast iron pipes which cause a large number of leakages that are often difficult to identify, thus leading to water losses.

Progressive economic development as well as urbanisation influence the characteristics of the stormwater runoff. Progressive sealing of drainage basin surface prompts the decrease of rainwater infiltration, thus increasing the runoff intensity. This results in an increase of flood risk. Thus, in urban areas the sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) are used in addition to the traditional sewer systems. The examples of SUDS strategy are, inter alia, the roofs covered with vegetation (the green roofs). The paper presents the results of research of retention capacities of 4 diverse green roof models with following growing media: (1) the typical green roof substrate without any additions, (2) the substrate with addition of about 1 % by weight of hydrogel (the cross-linked potassium polyacrylate), (3) the substrate with addition of about 0.25 % by weight of hydrogel, (4) the substrate with addition of expanded clay and perlite. The models did not have the vegetation layers in order to explore only the retention capacities of drainage layers and substrates. The aim of the first part of research was to investigate the retention capacities of green roof models after 1, 2, 6, 8 and 10 antecedent dry days. In the case of 1 and 2 antecedent dry days the best medium retention capacity had green roof model 2 (with substrate with addition of 1 % by weight of hydrogel), and the weakest medium retention capacity had green roof model 1 (without any additions). In the cases of precipitations which occurred after 6 as well as 8 and 10 antecedent dry days the best retention capacity had green roof model 3 (with addition of about 0.25 % by weight of hydrogel). The weakest retention capacity had in these cases green roof model 4 (with addition of expanded clay and perlite). The aim of the second part of research described in the paper was to investigate the retention capacities of green roof models during precipitations that occurred after long antecedent dry periods of time (34, 59 and 106 antecedent dry days). The substrates and drainage layers were air-dry directly before precipitations. The best retention capacity had in this case green roof model 3 (with the substrate with addition of about 0.25 % by weight of hydrogel). The second largest retention capacity had model 2 (with the substrate with addition of about 1 % by weight of hydrogel). The definitely weakest retention capacity had model 4 containing the substrate with addition of expanded clay and perlite. The results may indicate that the efficacy of hydrogel decreased over time probably due to its decay under the influence of solar radiation.

The purpose of this article is to analyze and compare the benefits of and barriers to the implementation of Environmental Management Systems (EMS)—International Standard ISO 14001 and Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS)—by organizations. This paper attempts to answer the following research questions: 1. Does the implementation of either ISO 14001 or EMAS bring the same benefits and barriers to organizations? 2. Does the system functioning duration in the company influence internal and external benefits resulting from EMS implementation? 3. Are economic aspects of EMS adoption as important for entrepreneurs as the ecological aspects? This topic is important due to the large disproportions appearing in recent years between the number of companies registered in ISO 14001 and in EMAS, and due to relatively frequent cases of non-renewal of EMAS certifications in recent years. It is crucial because each EMS certified institution has implemented procedures which contribute to better protection of the natural environment. The study was conducted in the form of a survey; questions and answers were specified based on the literature review and the authors’ research. Results indicate that the knowledge-based and organizational problems, as well as the time invested in preparing the documentation, are much more significant than financial problems associated with EMS implementation. Even organizations that previously introduced ISO 14001 still have difficulties with EMAS implementation. The perception of benefits resulting from EMS introduction is related to the system functioning duration in the company. The analysis shows that it is necessary to strengthen economic incentives in order to enable the widest possible dissemination of EMS among companies. Research results can contribute to further simplification and increases in EMS implementation, which may lead to more sustainable development and climate change mitigation, inter alia, due to the improvement in energy efficiency, increased use of renewable energy, and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

SThis original approach has many advantages as a nondestructive, real time, in situ and in vivo method, using living model microorganisms and permitting to study the physiological state of microorganisms in real processes conditions. Different microorganisms in terms of morphologies and sizes were considered. They had been chosen for their industrial interest. First, each constructed strain was characterized kinetically in terms of growth, metabolites production and fluorescence expression and compared to their wild type strain.As examples, this strategy had been applied to the analysis of filtration cakes or biofilm characteristics. The direct observation of microbial deposits generated by filtration of mixed or pure microbial suspension could be performed thanks to a specifically designed flow cell equipped with a microscope glass coverslip.For biofilm formations, cultures were carried out in an instrumented bioreactor to control and manage the environmental conditions. An external recirculation loop was added to the bioreactor to expose different supports to biological medium and allow biofilm development.Microscopic observations were performed on a scanning confocal laser microscope and image analyses were done using Volocity software (Improvision ® ). As results, the characteristics of the biological aggregates structure (deposit thickness, . . .) and the 3Dorganization of the microorganisms within the aggregates were determined under various operating conditions.

Climate changes as well as the urbanisation and economic development influence the characteristics of the stormwater runoff in the cities. The sealing of drainage basin surface leads to an increase of the runoff intensity, thereby decreasing the rainwater infiltration. This situation can lead to the risk of flooding in urban areas. Therefore, especially in great cities there is a need for application of such solutions that will support the operation of the sewage systems. The examples of such solutions are, among others, the green roofs. The paper presents the results of investigation of the water retention capacity of 4 green roof models containing following growing media: (1) the typical green roof substrate without any amendments, (2) the substrate with addition of about 1 % by weight of hydrogel (the cross-linked potassium polyacrylate), (3) the substrate containing about 0.25 % by weight of hydrogel, (4) the substrate with addition of expanded clay and perlite. The models were not vegetated in order to investigate only the water retention capacity of drainage elements and substrates. The water retention capacity of green roof models was investigated in the laboratory conditions with use of artificial precipitations simulated after diverse antecedent dry weather periods (ADWP) amounting to: 1, 2, 5, 7, and 12 days. The intensities of artificial precipitations were relatively high and ranged from 1.14 to 1.27 mm/min, whereas their durations ranged from 7.75 to 12.56 min. These values of intensities and durations corresponded to the design rainfall intensities calculated using Blaszczyk’s equation for annual rain depth equal to 600 mm and the return periods ranged from 5 to 15 years. The obtained results indicate that the water retention capacity of green roof models, expressed as the volumes (or depths) of rainwater retained within their structures, increases with an increase of ADWP. Results indicate that the relation between ADWP and the amount of water retained in the layers of green roofs in the case of relatively short antecedent dry weather periods provided for the analysis (from 1 to 7 days) may be approximately linear. The results of the one-way ANOVA indicate that in the case of all models there is a statistically significant difference between the values of retention depth for specified ADWP (p < 0.001). During more than half of simulated precipitations, especially in the case of longer ADWPs lasting 5, 7, and 12 days the best water retention capacity had Model 3, with substrate containing about 0.25 % by weight of hydrogel. On the other hand, the results show that the weakest retention capacity had Model 2 (with substrate containing 1 % by weight of hydrogel). In the case of longer ADWPs (lasting 7 and 12 days) relatively weak water retention capacity had Model 4 (with substrate containing the addition of expanded clay and perlite). It can be concluded that too large amount of hydrogel added to the substrate can have an unfavourable impact on the water retention capacity of green roofs.

The goal of the research was to investigate the retention capacity of six green roof models (SHP1, SHP2, SHP3, SH, S, and SP) constructed with the use of the square-shaped plastic trays, Floradrain FD 25 drainage elements, SF filter sheets, and the specified extensive substrates (with or without the hydrogel amendment). The SHP1 and SHP2 models were constructed in March 2017, SHP3 and SHin November 2017, while S and SPin April 2018. Four models (SHP1, SHP2, SHP3, and SP) contained the plants (the goldmoss stonecrop Sedum Acre), whereas two models (S and SH) did not contain the vegetation. The substrates of SHP1, SHP2, SHP3, and SH models contained the hydrogel admixtures. The investigations were conducted with the use of simulated (and partially natural) precipitations. The water retention capacity of each green roof model was established based on the difference between the precipitation volume and the volume of runoff from a model. The results show that green roofs can be useful stormwater management tools. The calculated stormwater retention rates ranged from 29.50% to 85.15%. In most cases, the best water retention capacity was exhibited by the SHP3 model, constructed in November 2017 and planted in April 2018, containing the substrate amended with superabsorbent (cross-linked potassium polyacrylate). The similarly constructed SHP1 and SHP2 models, which were built in March 2017, in some cases had lower water retention capacity. These models contained older hydrogel and were overgrown with older, smaller, and worse looking plants, partially supplanted by mosses. Such results indicate that the efficiency of hydrogel may decrease over time. In many cases, the S (not vegetated, without hydrogel), SH (not vegetated, with substrate containing hydrogel), and SP (vegetated, without hydrogel) models had slightly lower water retention capacity. The results of investigations indicate that there was a relatively strong positive linear correlation between the retention depth and duration of the antecedent period elapsed from the preceding total (or substantial) saturation of the green roof models (labelled in this article as period since total saturation-PSTS). The weather conditions i.e. air temperature and relative humidity as well as PSTS are very important parameters that influence the retention capacity of the green roof models. The result show that duration of PSTS can be stronger correlated with the retention depth than antecedent dry period (ADP) elapsed from the end of last precipitation, regardless of its depth and intensity.