KRAKOW RZGW
Water quality control in the Upper Vistula Basin
Independently of its usual duties, RZGW is responsible for launching the "Planning and Administration of Water Management" project, which is a component of the "Strategy of Environmental Management" programme, financed by the World Bank and by the Ministry for Environmental Protection, Natural Resources and Forestry, and whose objective is to control groundwater quality and to build protection areas for municipal intakes.
The regional network for groundwater water quality control (MRQES) was set up in 1991 in the Upper Vistula river basin and the Krakow Academy of Mines was entrusted with the preparation of economic and technical terms and with the survey coordination. In 1993, an equipment was acquired by RZGW to carry out field measures and prepare samples. It consisted of laboratory-vans fitted out with a material to carry out withdrawals and basic measures on site. The Academy of Mines, the Geology Company of Krakow and the Geology Institute of Kielce have been carrying out field measures. These surveys were financed on the Phare programme budget.
The project objectives are: identification and permanent control of groundwater quality, evaluation of groundwater resistance to surface water pollution, forecasting of water quality changes in a pluriannual cycle, identification of impacts of natural and anthropogenic processes on water quality.
MRQES network should be used to check the simulation models necessary for preparing regulations for the use of the river basin water.
In 1993, Krakow RZGW, in cooperation with the Water Management and Meteorological Institute (IMGE) and the Krakow ODGW, also set up on the "Kosciuszko" waterfall, the first pilot station to monitor the salinity of the Vistula water. The results are automatically transmitted to the RZGW data base and are used by large industries: Skawina and Polaniec power station, Krakow Leg thermal power station, Sendzimir smelting works.
During 1994 and 1995 summers, in low water period, Krakow RZGW transmitted every day information on the Vistula salinity and flowrate to Krakow Regional Inspectorate for Environmental Protection (IRPE).
The possibility of using Polish equipment for water control and automatic data transmission is under study.
Tomasz Walczykiewicz
Krakow RZGW
Fax : (48-12) 212 909
WROCLAW RZGW
Conference on " Small Reservoirs and Environmental Management "
This scientific conference was held in Wroclaw on June 14 and 15, 1996.
Twenty-six papers presented an overview of the present state of knowledge on the possibilities of improving water supply for agriculture with small reservoirs.
It has been demonstrated that ponding water with a controlled outflow in early spring significantly reduced the lowering of the groundwater table.
The conference was the first national forum that followed the 21 December 1995 Agreement between the Minister of Agriculture and the Minister of Environmental Protection, Natural Resources and Forestry regarding cooperation on a small retention programme. Reference to the Agreement was made in the paper "Small Retention Reservoirs in the Upper and Middle Odra River Basin", which presented priority projects based on retention reservoirs with proposed locations and hydrological criteria.
Andrzej Nalberczynski
Wroclaw RZGW
Fax : (48-71) 22 13 39
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