Articles

Title:	Water quality assesment using diatoms in the Bzura River
Authors:	Szczepocka Ewelina
Abstract:	The Bzura River is a left-side tributary of the Vistula River; it flows across the Łódzkie and Mazowieckie Voivodeships. It is a typical lowland river, 166.2 km in length, has its sources in the town of Łódź, and outflows at the town of Wyszogród. Between 1956 and 1997 the Bzura was one of the most polluted rivers in Poland. Since 1998 a decisive decease in the value of pollution indices has been observed. Between 1998 and 2001 a quantitative and qualitative study of diatom communities and an assessment of water quality of the river was carried out on the basis of microbenthos samples, applying Lange-Bertalot’s (1994) species diversity method, which takes advantage of the various diatom tolerances to pollution. Three sections of the river (upper, middle and lower) were investigated at six sites (Arturówek, Ozorków, Łęczyca, Łowicz, Sochaczew and Wyszogród). As a result, the Bzura’s water quality was determined to be of Water Purity Classes II and II-III. The source section (Arturówek) decisively fulfils the requirements of Water Purity Class II – sensitive diatom taxa constituted over 50% of the diatom assemblage there. At Ozorków and Łęczyca water declined to Class II-III – it was the river’s section impacted by the “Boruta” Industrial Dye Works and the Łęczyca Mining Works. The percentage of sensitive species was over 10 and of tolerant ones below 50. Water quality in the middle section (Łowicz, Sochaczew) indicated Water Purity Class II – decisively sensitive species dominated there (above 50%). In the outflow section the percentage relationship between species indicated Water Purity Class II-III of the river’s water. Results of biological and physico-chemical investigations are congruent with each other and prove that the Bzura River, which until recently was a “sewage ditch”, is regenerating and reviving.
DOI:
Type of paper:	Original research paper
Pages:	67 to 79
Cytation:	Szczepocka E., 2005, Water quality assesment using diatoms in the Bzura River, Ocean. Hydrob. Studies, 34(4): 67-79
Keywords:	The Bzura River, diatoms, water quality
Year:	2005
Category:
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