Przegląd Geograficzny (2019) vol. 91, iss. 1
Spatial and seasonal variability of selected water-quality parameters in an urbanised catchment as exemplified by Warsaw’s Służewiecki Stream
Przegląd Geograficzny (2019) vol. 91, iss. 1, pp. 121-138 | 
Full text
doi: https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2019.1.6
Abstract
Urban streams have recently become an important topic of diversified scientific research. This reflects their ecological and recreational significance. It is well known that progressive urbanisation in large cities poses a threat to natural ecosystems like bodies of water and watercourses. Changes in stream morphology caused by regulation and inflows from municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants influence water quality and interfere with the water cycle. The 65.3 km2 catchment of the Służewiecki Stream is located in the south-western part of Warsaw. It flows 17.1 km through five districts of the capital city and is the largest tributary of the River Vistula in the Warsaw area. Due to a huge (86.8%) contribution of built-up areas, including land associated with communications, industry and commerce, the stream is under a constant, wide-ranging anthropopressure. Upstream, from source to outlet from the Airport rainwater treatment plant, the Służewiecki Stream flows mainly through an underground channel. However, downstream there is a significant modification introduced in the catchment thanks to two artificial bodies of water (called Staw Wyścigi and Staw Służewiecki). The aim of this study was to determine the spatial and seasonal variability of selected quality parameters of water in the Służewiecki Stream catchment. Research sought to identify changes in physical and chemical parameters along the Stream and its two tributaries, as well as to determine seasonal variation in these parameters. For those purposes, the field investigations run from November 2017 through to October 2018, over a regular two-week cycle, involved water temperature, oxygen saturation, conductivity and pH. A monthly cycle was in turn applied in determining concentrations of nitrates and phosphates. Measurements were conducted at 11 sites across the catchment, of which nine (P1-P9) were along the Stream itself, and two (D1, D2) on its largest tributaries (the Rów Grabowski and Kanał Wolicki). Measurement sites were selected to ensure assessment of the impacts of various forms of anthropopressure on the selected water-quality parameters; with the Warsaw Airport rainwater treatment plant and two artificial bodies of water considered to influence most. On the basis of the data obtained, magnitude and variability parameters were calculated, while the similarity of measurement sites was determined using the Ward agglomeration method. Additionally, in August 2018, field investigation of aquatic vegetation was carried out, indicating the presence of five species of macrophyte along the Służewiecki Stream. The results indicate that the physico-chemical regime along the Służewiecki Stream is mostly disturbed by the two artificial bodies of water, which interrupt the natural continuum of the river. Thermal and oxygen conditions undergo the greatest transformation. The bodies of water also cause a change in phosphate concentration due to their bioaccumulation and immobilisation of ions. However, tributaries and the operation of the Airport rainwater treatment plant also exert a significant impact on spatial variability to investigated parameters along the Służewiecki Stream. Seasonal differentiation in physico-chemical characteristics was mainly related to meteorological conditions, the vegetative cycle of photosynthetic organisms and changes in anthropopressure. Most of the tested parameters displayed a clear seasonal cycle, though the exceptions were nitrate and phosphate, whose cycles reflect the impact of various, independent factors, such as hydrological conditions, decomposition processes and wastewater inflow.
Keywords: jakość wody, paramentry fizyczno-chemiczne, antropopresja, Potok Służewiecki, zlewnia zurbanizowana
[aj.halas@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences Twarda 51/55, 00-818 Warsaw: Poland
[czarnecka@twarda.pan.pl], Instytut Geografii i Przestrzennego Zagospodarowania im. S. Leszczyckiego PAN
[m.laszewski@uw.edu.pl], Uniwersytet Warszawski, Wydział Geografii i Studiów Regionalnych
Citation
APA: Halaś, A., Czarnecka, K., Piasecki, K., & Łaszewski, M. (2019). Przestrzenne i sezonowe zróżnicowanie wybranych parametrów jakości wody w zlewni zurbanizowanej na przykładzie Potoku Służewieckiego. Przegląd Geograficzny, 91(1), 121-138. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2019.1.6
MLA: Halaś, Agnieszka, et al. "Przestrzenne i sezonowe zróżnicowanie wybranych parametrów jakości wody w zlewni zurbanizowanej na przykładzie Potoku Służewieckiego". Przegląd Geograficzny, vol. 91, no. 1, 2019, pp. 121-138. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2019.1.6
Chicago: Halaś, Agnieszka, Czarnecka, Kaja, Piasecki, Krzysztof and Łaszewski, Maksym. "Przestrzenne i sezonowe zróżnicowanie wybranych parametrów jakości wody w zlewni zurbanizowanej na przykładzie Potoku Służewieckiego". Przegląd Geograficzny 91, no. 1 (2019): 121-138. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2019.1.6
Harvard: Halaś, A., Czarnecka, K., Piasecki, K., & Łaszewski, M. 2019. "Przestrzenne i sezonowe zróżnicowanie wybranych parametrów jakości wody w zlewni zurbanizowanej na przykładzie Potoku Służewieckiego". Przegląd Geograficzny, vol. 91, no. 1, pp. 121-138. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2019.1.6