Risk assessment for groundwater in the region of municipal landfill systems in Tychy-Urbanowice (Southern Poland)

An Environmental Risk Assessment is an efficient technical and analytical method for analyzing environmental impacts and it supports the decision-making process connected with projects variants by using historical data collection, identification of regional risk sources, probability and impact estimation of signal risk type. In this article, an Environmental Risk Assessment was performed for groundwater quality in the region of municipal landfills in Tychy-Urbanowice (Southern Poland) to assess the impact of various factors on the quality of groundwater in the region. The assessment used qualitative and quantitative risk analysis methods, including cause and consequence analysis, completion of an effect/probability matrix and utilization of the SWOT analysis method. The results of the assessment indicate that use of the SWOT analysis was the best method for groundwater risk assessment in the examined area. The analysis included an assessment of the spatial and temporal variability of leachate and groundwater quality (using data from a groundwater monitoring system), simulation of the longevity of both the top and bottom security system, spatial planning and an assessment of the impact of other parameters on groundwater, terrain and climatic conditions. The overall result for this analysis for the likely potential groundwater hazard was a score of -4.For the purposes of further risk analyses, it is possible to consider additional factors that are likely to affect the water quality of the area under investigation or to use other methods that will be based on a time series analysis

Mathematical assessing of the groundwater quality, a case study from Lipówka landfill

Dokonano oceny jakości wód podziemnych w rejonie zespołu składowisk w Strzemieszycach. Pod uwagę wzięto zawar-tość chlorków. Celem pracy było wyznaczenie zmian jakości wód podziemnych przy użyciu statystycznej metody śred-nich ruchomych. W obliczeniach wzięto pod uwagę wyniki analiz chemicznych zawartości chlorków dla okresu 21 lat w dwóch pie-zometrach składowiska dawnej Huty Katowice. Dane te pozwoliły wyznaczyć trendy zmian jakości wód podziemnych w czwartorzędowym i triasowym piętrze wodonośnym na badanym obszarze. Wyniki obliczeń wskazują na negatywny wpływ składowiska na jakość wód podziemnych

Predicting Presence of Amphibian Species Using Features Obtained from GIS and Satellite Images

The construction of transport infrastructure is often preceded by an environmental impact assessment procedure, which should identify amphibian breeding sites and migration routes. However, the assessment is very difficult to conduct because of the large number of habitats spread out over a vast expanse, and the limited amount of time available for fieldwork. We propose utilizing local environmental variables that can be gathered remotely using only GIS systems and satellite images together with machine learning methods. In this article, we introduce six new and easily extractable types of environmental features. Most of the features we propose can be easily obtained from satellite imagery and spatial development plans. The proposed feature space was evaluated using four machine learning algorithms, namely: a C4.5 decision tree, AdaBoost, random forest and gradient-boosted trees. The obtained results indicated that the proposed feature space facilitated prediction and was comparable to other solutions. Moreover, three of the new proposed features are ranked most important; these are the three dominant properties of the surroundings of water reservoirs. One of the new features is the percentage access from the edges of the reservoir to open areas, but it affects only a few species. Furthermore, our research confirmed that the gradient-boosted trees were the best method for the analyzed dataset

Application of pollution indices for the assessment of the negative impact of a municipal landfill on groundwater (Tychy, southern Poland)

Risk assessment plays an essential role in the protection of groundwater resources, especially in the regions of potential contamination sources. The present research was aimed at assessing the risk of groundwater contamination in the vicinity of the Tychy-Urbanowice municipal landfill systems (southern Poland), using the contamination index tool. Groundwater samples from the Quaternary Aquifer were collected from 22 piezometers located near the former landfill site (currently closed) and the new sealed landfill site during a monitoring period from 1995 to 2015. Extremely high values (1700) of the groundwater contamination index were observed in a piezometer that captures water beneath the abandoned landfill. Very high index values (154 or 216) were also noticed in piezometers located in the groundwater outflow from the landfill site. Results of interpolation for individual piezometers, which capture only the upper or lower part of an aquifer, are unrepresentative. The interpolation for the mean values of the contamination index increased the groundwater risk assessment

The representativity index of a simple monitoring network with regular theoretical shapes and its practical application for the existing groundwater monitoring network of the Tychy-Urbanowice landfills, Poland

The representativity index Ru is a measure used in assessing the chemical status of groundwater based on monitoring studies. This index is designed to describe the spatial homogeneity of the monitoring network. The general formula for calculating the index Ru includes the following parameters: average distance to the nearest monitoring point, number of monitoring points, and size of the test area. Calculations to determine the representativity index for four different shapes of the theoretical test study with the same area and the same number of monitoring points have been done. These calculations suggest that the index value depends on the shape and the position of these points, and it is less dependent on the size of the surface. An assessment of the representativeness of the monitoring network for the different numbers and configurations of the piezometers around the Tychy-Urbanowice landfills based on the mentioned index has been done as well. The best and the worst configurations of the monitoring network for these landfill sites in mathematical terms have been presented in this paper. The results are surprising: the highest index value is obtained with a single measurement point. The calculations were performed with the area of landfill and the area limited by the range of piezometers as the exclusive test area. To choose the optimal test area, representativity indicator was calculated also for the monitoring network around waste landfills, including the buffer network behind the piezometers. The difference in the values of the representativity indicator for subsequent variants is astounding. The representativity index for the same monitoring network is about 20 % higher if we consider the test area limited by external piezometers, and higher by another 20 %, taking into account the 95-m buffer zone behind piezometers. Due to increase of the representativity index value with a different width of buffer zone, the mathematical calculations of the monitoring network’s representativeness should be supported by an analysis of the geological structure and hydrogeological conditions occurring in the analyzed area

Representativeness of the groundwater monitoring results in the context of its methodology: case study of a municipal landfill complex in Poland

A representative monitoring of groundwater quality is the basis for a reliable assessment of the impact of pollutant sources on groundwater. This is especially the case in the area around old closed landfills. A study of different methods of groundwater sampling was conducted at a municipal landfill site in Tychy-Urbanowice (southern Poland). The study compared the results of the electrolytic conductivity values obtained during vertical profiling both before and after purging with a passive bailer. The results obtained from the well volume approach after purging up to nine volumes of stagnant water in the piezometer were also taken into account, as were the results of the purging of water volume equal to the double volume of the filtered part of the piezometer. Particular attention was paid to the nested piezometers. The presented values confirm very large differences in the research results of both the sampling technology and the depth of sampling, the piezometer construction and its lithological profile and in the duration and intensity of the tests carried out. In order to determine the real-time variabilit

Groundwater quality testing in the area of municipal waste landfill sites in Dąbrowa Górnicza (southern Poland)

Groundwater quality assessment for pollution can be undertaken with the use of indicators that will confirm or deny the negative impact of potential pollution sources. Based on water quality monitoring data from the Lipówka I and Lipówka II municipal landfill sites in Dąbrowa Górnicza from the last five years, the water quality in the area was assessed using the Nemerow Pollution Index (NPI) method. Seven parameters were assessed – pH, electrical conductivity, and the concentrations of chlorides, sulphates, ammonium ions, boron and iron. The limits for class III water quality were used as the reference level. The results of the NPI calculations show that the highest indices were obtained for the piezometers PZ5 and T5 located in the outflow of the water from the Lipówka I landfill site. The highest values of the Nemerow index were obtained for ammonium ions and reached a value of over 36 in the PZ5 piezometer and 17 in the T5 piezometer. The other parameters did not indicate a significant impact of the landfill sites on the quality of groundwater. The highest values of the indicators were observed in 2017. It is worth noting that, apart from the large differences in the content of ammonium ions, the values of the Nemerow indices for the electrical conductivity specifically for the PZ5 piezometer are twice as high as for the other piezometers and four times higher than for boron. The Nemerow index is a useful and easy method of assessing the quality of groundwater. It can even be used for a small number of parameters

Change the number of water reservoirs in the selected cities of the Upper Silesian Agglomeration over the period 1993-2014

The Upper Silesian Agglomeration is the most industrialized area in Poland and one of the most in Europe. It is situated in the eastern part of the Upper Silesia and covers nearly 1500 km2. This region is highly diverse in terms of the spatial structure. There are lots of water reservoirs besides built-up areas and industrial facilities. Many of them have also significance for nature. Water reservoirs in the Upper Silesian Agglomeration function under anthropogenic conditions. Water reservoirs have a different size and the genesis. This kind of occurrence conditions influences the water reservoirs` state. There are mainly water reservoirs of anthropogenic character in a study area. A lot of water reservoirs are strictly connected with coal exploitation in this region. Unfortunately, the number of water reservoirs in the cities of the Upper Silesian Agglomeration has lately decreased. Reservoirs are eliminated as a result of changes in industry, progressive land development, changes in environmental conditions. In this paper we present the results of the number of water reservoirs analysis in Katowice, Sosnowiec and Chorzów over the period 1993-2014. Field studies and analysis of topographic maps show a decrease in the number of water reservoirs in this region by tens of percent

The use of the contamination index and the LWPI index to assess the quality of groundwater in the area of a municipal waste Landfill

Environmental degradation caused by the migration of pollutants from landfills is one of the biggest problems for urban areas. Systematic monitoring of groundwater in the vicinity of waste dumps allows for an assessment of the degree of risk to the soil and water environment. In this paper, spatiotemporal variation of groundwater pollution near a municipal landfill in Sosnowiec (southern Poland) was investigated. For this purpose, the monitoring results of five physicochemical indicators from 2014–2019 were used. This study presents an example of the application of the LandfillWater Pollution Index (LWPI) and the Cd Contamination Index. The obtained results indicated that the tested waters were negatively influenced by municipal landfills, especially in the southern part (piezometers P8 and P10). The values of the Contamination Index even reached a value equal of about 1400, while the values of the LWPI index reached 305. Significantly lower values of both indicators were obtained using the results of monitoring studies for other piezometers located upstream from the landfill but belonging to the observation network of a neighboring facility. The indices used permit a determination of the level of groundwater contamination from the described landfill and can be used in similar research areas

The smoothing methods used in assessing the influence of pollution sources on groundwater quality - a case study of metallurgical landfill in Lipówka (southern Poland)

Several methods have been used to determine trends in hydrogeochemical elements. This study is concerned with the ordinary 3-period moving averages, the 3-period moving median and the exponential smoothing method. It has taken into account the chloride concentration in groundwater from the region of the landfill of the Katowice Ironworks (southern Poland). The data from two piezometers were used: T1 screened in the Triassic and Q1 screened in the Quaternary aquifers. The main aim of this article was to compare statistical methods and to choose the most appropriate method for an assessment of the impact of pollution sources on groundwater quality and determining any trends. The choice of chlorides as the analyzed indicator is connected with their chemical conservative character. They are also indicators of negative impact on groundwater of e.g. municipal, metallurgical landfill sites on groundwater. Results showed that the moving median is less sensitive to outliers than the moving average. The running median preserves sharp discontinuities in the signal but the biggest smoothing was observed in the case of exponential smoothing. All of these methods filter out the noise and transform the data into a smooth curve, which is unbiased by outliers. Application of the smoothing method allowed the generalization of the monitoring data which clearly showed trends. In the absence of reliable data for short periods, these statistical methods made it possible to fill in missing values. These methods are easier to calculate than regression models even if they ignore complex relationships in the data. Moreover, they can also be used as a component in many other indicators such as the Moving Average Convergence Divergence