The impact of environmental conditions on water salinity in the area of the city of Inowrocław (north-central Poland)

Abstract

Abstract. The article presents the influence of natural and anthropogenic factors on the chemical and physical properties of surface water and groundwater in the area of the city of Inowrocław. It has been shown that the properties of the waters were most strongly affected by the specific geological structure (the city is located within the Zechstein salt dome) as well as the long-term influence of a salt mine and soda plant. The composition of most analysed samples was dominated by Ca 2+, Na + and Cl -ions. In places of heavy industrial activity, some water parameters were several time higher than permissible limit values according to Polish standards. It is concluded that, due to the threat to the city's drinking groundwater resources and fertile soils, the surface water and groundwater in the area in question require permanent monitoring.

Pollution of Sedimentary Ponds at an Industrial Plant in Janikowo (Poland)

“…A high chloride concentration of up to 51 g/dm 3 in groundwater near soda ash production plant is confirmed by Strzelecka et al (2011) [10] and Kaczor-Kurzawa (2018) [16]. Further from the heap, it already contains less chloride ions (up to 1.76 g/dm 3 ) [15]. Wastewater generated in the soda production process using the Solvay method in the state of Gujarat, in India, is discharged into the Arabian Sea and has a chloride concentration close to 100 g/dm 3 [18].…”

“…A significant amount of liquid form, high salt concentration and high wastewater reactions create technical, economic and ecological problems. The deposition of strongly saline waste products in the sedimentary ponds without proper sealing, located directly on permeable grounds, contributes to the salinisation of groundwater, surface water and soils [3,5,6,8,[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18].…”

“…They are characterised by higher electrolytic conductivity (EC) and sodium, chlorides and calcium Contact with waste from the soda ash industry changes the properties of soils and groundwater. They are characterised by higher electrolytic conductivity (EC) and sodium, chlorides and calcium concentrations [8][9][10]12,15,17,19]. Chlorides became an excellent indicator of the surface and underground water pollution caused by waste from soda production [10,20].…”

Antioxidant defence barrier of great tit Parus major nestlings in response to trace elements

“…The production of soda ash by the Solvay method produces, besides the intended products, huge amounts of waste-lime sludge with a lot of sodium and chlorine. Thus, the high saturation of soil sorbing complex by Na ions (Piernik 2012;Kamiński et al 2016) and the salinisation of surface water and groundwater (Hulisz et al 2017) in the Kujawy region are linked to the natural salts deposit, but especially to industrial wastes, e.g. calcium and iron compounds, silicates, aluminosilicates, and solutions of KCl, NaCl, NH 4 OH, Na 2 SO 4 , NaOH, MgCl 2 , and CaCl 2 known as "sludge liquor", stored in leaking earth tanks (settling ponds), which infiltrate into the substrate (Piernik 2003;Kamiński et al 2016).…”

“…calcium and iron compounds, silicates, aluminosilicates, and solutions of KCl, NaCl, NH 4 OH, Na 2 SO 4 , NaOH, MgCl 2 , and CaCl 2 known as "sludge liquor", stored in leaking earth tanks (settling ponds), which infiltrate into the substrate (Piernik 2003;Kamiński et al 2016). Furthermore, environmental problems also include failures in pipelines draining the wastewater from the factory to the Noteć River and the Vistula River and delivering brine for soda production from the mine in Góra to the factory in Mątwy (Piernik 2003;Hulisz et al 2017). Concentrations of Ca, Na, and Cl ions in surface waters, especially those contaminated with soda wastes and industrial brine, were many times higher than the highest permissible values of pollution for wastewater being conducted into waters and soil (Cl 1 g/dm, Na + 0.08 g/dm) (Hulisz et al 2017).…”