Human‐influenced streamflow during extreme drought: identifying driving forces, modifiers, and impacts in an urbanized catchment in central Poland

Abstract

This study investigates the response of the streamflow to an extremely hot and dry summer 2015 in the urbanized catchment of the Utrata River in central Poland. The objectives were to: reveal changes in the flow regime, assess anomalies in summer river flows, estimate the natural and wastewater effluent contribution and provide an ecological context for the in-stream conditions. The mean annual flow rate in the period 1996-2015 increased by 0.61 m 3 /s as compared to 1951-1970. The mean annual wastewater inflow rate to the river in 2015 was approximately 0.770 m 3 /s, constituting 39% of the observed flow. Almost the entire period of August this contribution approached 100%. The optimum river water temperature threshold for warm-water fish species was exceeded. Streamflow modifications are attributed to an increase of wastewater discharge, urban impact through an increase in imperviousness, and the variability of climatic driving forces.Human-influenced streamflow during extreme drought U. Somorowska and M. Łaszewski

Land Cover Effects on Selected Nutrient Compounds in Small Lowland Agricultural Catchments

“…near the springs of the Sienniczanka. The climate of the investigated area can be considered as warm temperate in the transitional zone from marine to continental [56]. The mean annual air temperature is approximately 8-9 °C, while annual precipitation amounts to 500-550 mm.…”

Human Impact on Spatial Water Temperature Variability in Lowland Rivers: a Case Study from Central Poland

“…From sites U5 to U7 the river channel was completely regulated, while riparian trees and shrubs were removed. Today, more than 40 municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) are functioning in the river catchment [16]. The largest is located in Pruszków, and its maximum daily sewage capacity is up to 69,000 m 3 .…”

Drought and society: Scientific progress, blind spots, and future prospects

“…Most of the recent contributions have focused on exposing the social processes that intersect with the transformation of a drought from a meteorological event, into soil moisture drought (Cook et al, 2009 ; Deo et al, 2009 ; Kandakji et al, 2021 ; Satgé et al, 2017 ; Taufik et al, 2020 ; Yang et al, 2017 ; Yu et al, 2018 ), hydrological drought (Al‐Faraj & Tigkas, 2016 ; Jehanzaib, Shah, Kwon, & Kim, 2020 ; Jehanzaib, Shah, Yoo, & Kim, 2020 ; Liu et al, 2016 ; Somorowska & Łaszewski, 2017 ; Wada et al, 2013 ; Wan et al, 2017 ; Wanders & Wada, 2015 ; Wang, Duan, et al, 2020 ; Wang, Jiang, et al, 2020 ; Yang et al, 2020 ; Yuan et al, 2017 ), and ultimately, socioeconomic drought (Edalat & Stephen, 2019 ; Guo, Huang, Huang, Wang, Fang, et al, 2019 ; Guo, Huang, Huang, Wang, Wang, & Fang, 2019 ; Heidari et al, 2020 ; Huang et al, 2016 ; Liu, Shi, & Sivakumar, 2020 ; Liu, Zhang, et al, 2020 ; Mehran et al, 2015 ; Shi et al, 2018 ; Zhao et al, 2019 ). Across these studies, the social processes that engender or exacerbate drought propagation are usually proxied by the expansion of agriculture activities, population growth, urbanization, and industrialization, with agriculture seen as the most significant social driver across the various phases of drought propagation.…”