“…The path of pollutants from groundwater through the streambed sediment into the surface w ater was described by Schmidt et al (2008). After the flooding events in 2001, increased HCH concentrations have been detected in fish in the rivers Mulde and Elbe, show ing remobilization of persistent organic pollutants including HCH, from polluted soils, sediments and deposits (Wycisk et al, 2013). Thus frequently flooded floodplains of the rivers Mulde and Elbe and in areas only flooded at high discharge situations, residues of HCH can be expected to be deposited, resulting in HCH polluted streambed and flood plains dow nstream of the polluted areas.…”