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

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

Environmental Risk Assessment Caused by Selected Pollutants to Aquatic Environment on the Example of the Klodnica River

The waterbody Kłodnica to Promna as was analysed an example of watercourse located in the densely populated and highly urbanized area of the Upper Silesian Industrial Region. The aim of the study was to assess the risk posed to the aquatic ecosystem by priority substances (Ni, Pb, Cd, Hg) and specific non-synthetic pollutants (Cu, Zn), which are released to Kłodnica river. The analysis of the risk assessment was carried out by comparing the concentration of metals in the aquatic environment to the environmental quality standards and by using M-BAT and Pb Screening Tool which are user-friendly simplified BLM models (Biotic Ligand Model). These tools allowed to assess the potential risks posed by metals such as Cu, Ni, Zn, and Pb for the aquatic environment, taking into account the physicochemical parameters of water that affect the bioavailability of metals in the aquatic environment (DOC, Ca, pH). The results obtained by means of these tools showed that the risk caused by the toxicity of Cu, Ni and Pb has not occurred in any of the analyzed samples. On the other hand, high probability of risk due to the presence of Zn in surface water has been identified in all sampling points. The results of the analysis confirmed that the local conditions in terms of physicochemical water parameters have a significant impact on the risk assessment. The results of this study confirmed that the tools which are simplified version of complex BLM are an important element supporting the monitoring process in urbanized river catchment in the context of the Water Framework Directive requirements