Assessment of pollution, and ecological status in rivers located in the Vistula and Oder river basins impacted by the mining industry in Central Europe (Poland)

Many regions of the world are industrialised and urbanized like the Upper Silesian Coal Basin (USCB), which is located in one of the most industrialized areas of Europe. Due to the presence of coal and other mineral deposits and their excavation, this area is subject to extensive industrialization, including the functioning of mining and metallurgy industries. According to the Water Framework Directive, water released from mines contains a wide range of pollutants and hence poses a serious threat to the ecology of river systems, eventually resulting in their degradation. The aim of this study was to assess the ecological status of rivers located in the Vistula and Oder river basins, which are affected by the coal mining industry. In this study, macroinvertebrates were used as biological response on the water pollution, and were collected at 30 sampling sites in 12 rivers following the methodology of monitoring studies. The results revealed major differences in the parameters related to river salinity and nutrient loads in the studied rivers. Only the two rivers, Zylica and Liswarta, showed good ecological status, while bad ecological status was recorded for Bierawka, Rawa, Lego ' n, and Biala Przemsza rivers. A redundancy analysis of the results indicated the following: the quality class was positively related to the degree of conductivity; the density of macroinvertebrates was positively related to a higher content of N-NO2 (Nitrite nitrogen) and EPT (The number of families from Ephemeropthera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera), ASPT (average score per taxon PL), and 1-GOLD (abundance of Gastropod, Oligochaeta, and Diptera) indices were positively related to a higher content of dissolved oxygen. The condition of water and benthic invertebrates was signifi-cantly influenced by the industrial catchment, which was apparent from the ecological status of the studied systems. The rivers in the most industrialized part of this area were found to be characterized by worse conditions.

Automated summary

This study aims to assess the ecological status of rivers affected by coal mining industry. Macroinvertebrates were used as biological response indicators, and significant differences were found in the ecological status of these rivers, influenced by water quality and nutrient loads.