Przegląd Geograficzny (2017) vol. 89, iss. 1
The state of and changes in water conditions in the Łęczna-Włodawa Lake District
Przegląd Geograficzny (2017) vol. 89, iss. 1, pp. 9-28 | 
Full text
doi: https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2017.1.1
Abstract
According to the regional division from A. Chałubińska and T. Wilgat (1954), the Łęczna-Włodawa Lake District, is a subregion of Lublin Polesie – the western part of the extensive Polesie Lowland. More broadly, the area is located within the zone of the European Lowland, bordering on to the Lublin Upland in the south and the “Włodawa Hump” in the north. Other boundaries are formed by the valleys of the Tyśmienica in the west and the Bug in the east. The total area of the Łęczna-Włodawa Lake District is 1168.5 km2. This is a region of unique natural features. The shallow location of groundwater, extensive areas of wetlands and peatlands, natural lakes and artificial reservoirs all have special signifi cance for the character of the natural environment here. Despite the visible wealth of surface waters, this is an area of severe water deficits resulting from low precipitation and natural water-retention conditions. The main purpose of this study is to analyse the state of, and changes in, water conditions as the result of various impacting human activities. A description of the hydrosphere resources in the Lake District, and the ways in which they have been modified, was developed on the basis of material at the Department of Hydrology of the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin, meteorological data from the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management – National Research Institute, information obtained from the Voivodship Board for Land Reclamation and Water Facilities in Lublin and the “Bogdanka” Lublin Coal Company, Inc. Water is the most important component determining the valuable features and specific environment of the Łęczna-Włodawa Lake District. Natural water exchange is very slow here, and the limited resources, retained underground, are of a very good quality. Connections between lakes and basins without drainage to one system of outflow result in an acceleration of spring runoff, causing a decreasing in the area of permanent wetland and a change in the hydrodynamic balance between surface and ground waters. A higher rate of withdrawal and abstraction of groundwater for municipal and industrial purposes, and consequent greater flow of water through the system of reclamation ditches have led to a slow process of lowering of lake and groundwater tables, with the result that lakes become overgrown. Mining activity caused changes in surface and underground alimentation areas for lake catchments and lakes. Minewater discharge and the washing out of waste rock landfill by rainfall causes an input of more-mineralised waters, as is especially visible after their discharge into the receiving water the Świnka River. Water conditions in the area under study have thus been subject to change as a result of other economic activity, mainly land reclamation, the exploitation of aquifers, coal extraction and the use of land in recreation. The effective protection of water and other natural resources in the Łęczna-Włodawa Lake District – as an area unique in Europe – demands rational management and protection activity. Water as the most important component of this lacustrine-palustrine region should therefore be treated preferentially.
Keywords: stosunki wodne, przekształcenia hydrosfery, melioracje, górnictwo, pobory wody, Pojezierze Łęczyńsko-Włodawskie
Citation
APA: Michalczyk, Z., Mięsiak-Wójcik, K., Sposób, J., & Turczyński, M. (2017). Stan i zmiany stosunków wodnych Pojezierza Łęczyńsko-Włodawskiego. Przegląd Geograficzny, 89(1), 9-28. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2017.1.1
MLA: Michalczyk, Zdzisław, et al. "Stan i zmiany stosunków wodnych Pojezierza Łęczyńsko-Włodawskiego". Przegląd Geograficzny, vol. 89, no. 1, 2017, pp. 9-28. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2017.1.1
Chicago: Michalczyk, Zdzisław, Mięsiak-Wójcik, Katarzyna, Sposób, Joanna and Turczyński, Marek. "Stan i zmiany stosunków wodnych Pojezierza Łęczyńsko-Włodawskiego". Przegląd Geograficzny 89, no. 1 (2017): 9-28. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2017.1.1
Harvard: Michalczyk, Z., Mięsiak-Wójcik, K., Sposób, J., & Turczyński, M. 2017. "Stan i zmiany stosunków wodnych Pojezierza Łęczyńsko-Włodawskiego". Przegląd Geograficzny, vol. 89, no. 1, pp. 9-28. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2017.1.1