Assessment of the Impact of Industrial and Municipal Discharges on the Surface Water Body Status (Poland)

Abstract

Due to potential pressure from industrial and municipal activities, urban water bodies are at risk of not achieving the environmental objectives of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) by 2027. This study comprised the quality assessment of water body “Kłodnica do Promnej (bez)” under a strong anthropogenic influence. The main potential sources of pollution in the catchment were identified and the related characteristic contaminants were analysed. The obtained values of pollutants were compared with the limit values for surface waters from Regulation (Journal of Laws 2021, item 1475). The results confirmed that the analysed water body located in highly urbanized area is characterized by poor water quality and chemical status below the good status. The main threat to the aquatic environment is high salinity associated with the presence of mine water discharges. Moreover, the priority substances, such as Cd, Ni and Pb, exceeded the environmental quality standards values (EQS) in most of the designated measurement points. Due to the fact that water ecosystems do not constitute stand-alone structures, but are included in a wider socio-ecological system, the implementation of an integrated approach to characterizing the existing status of the water bodies and estimating the risk posed to the aquatic ecosystem is a crucial element of the catchment management process in the context of the provisions of the WFD.