Department of Water Management and Protection

Scientific achievements

The results of the scientific research of the Department of Water Protection and Water Management have become the basis for practical application in the form of:

• Rehabilitation of the Pławniowice anthropogenic lake, the method of removing the hypolimnion (Olszewski pipe) - The device for rehabilitation - drain-bottom syphon, has been in continuous operation since 2003. The result of the applied solution is the very good ecological condition of Lake Pławniowice and the cleanliness of the water, thanks to which the lake and its surroundings are a particularly attractive recreational area. Due to the high quality of the water, the authorities of the Rudziniec municipality are also considering establishing a water intake from the reservoir for municipal purposes.
• Remediation of the anthropogenic Lake Nakło-Chechło by the dolomite method. After the ecological disaster of 1998, when there was a mass death of fish, tests were carried out to prove the acidification of the water. The cause of the severe acidification of the water was acidic runoff from the immediate forest catchment area and acid rainfall. The acidification of the water caused acidemia, i.e. impaired oxygen uptake by the gills of the fish, which was the cause of death. 225 tonnes of dolomite rock in the form of grit with a size of about 3-5 cm were introduced into the reservoir. The dolomitisation caused the pH of the lake water to be adjusted to pH = 7. Currently, the water of the lake is of high purity.
• Remediation of the Blachownia Reservoir using the bottom sediment removal method, which has been carried out since 2019. The removal of bottom sediments from the "urban" reservoir resulted in its deepening, the removal of organic pollutants and metals, and the increase of the recreational attractiveness of the reservoir and the adjacent urban areas of the city of Blachownia.
• Long-term, continuous, systematic investigations of the Rybnik reservoir since 2002. The study of the reservoir, which is an element of the technological system, monitoring the state of the reservoir and the metabolic processes taking place in it, made it possible to record the deteriorating oxygen conditions threatening the decay of the ecosystem. The client - the Rybnik power plant - has made efforts to recultivate the reservoir by removing the hypolimnion (Olszewski tube) and is considering the possibility of increasing the intensity of anthropomixing by using a recirculation pump to move the water and lead to its oxygenation. The implementation of the research results is reflected in the commissioning of the water treatment station, where the plankton biomass is removed by the coagulation method. This is a unique method to remove large amounts of heavy metals from the water of a reservoir.
• The first and only survey in the history of the existence of the Gliwice Canal was conducted to describe the nature and degree of pollution of the water and bottom sediments. Assessment of the degree of pollution with heavy metals, radioisotopes and organic substances of the aquatic environment and bottom sediments of the water transport system.
• Development of a concept for the reclamation of the Kłodnica Hydrotube river reservoirs (Dzierżno Duże, Dzierżno Małe, Pławniowice - 140 million m3, 1000 ha). The concept was handed over to the Hydrotube Administrator, i.e. PP, together with the details of investment implementation. Polish Waters - RZGW Gliwice.
• Adoption of administrative resolutions of the Municipal Council of Bierawa on the rehabilitation of the sand pit of the sand mine "Kotlarnia" and the creation of a new water reservoir (1100 ha) based on the results of the research and development (by a team under my leadership) of a concept for water reclamation.
• The results of the investigations of the anthropogenic Paprocany Reservoir (110Ha) - published in the monograph Maciej Kostecki, Mariola Krodkiewska: Paprocany Reservoir - Limnology-Hydrobiology, IPIŚ PAN Works and Studies, No. 65, 1-101, 2005 - became the basis for the remediation and protection measures implemented by the City of Tychy,
• The results of the research on the Rybnik reservoir led to the introduction of the so-called water treatment station for replenishing the cooling system of the "Rybnik" power plant. This technological process has proved to be a method of removing heavy metals from limnic ecosystems.Project "Development of conditions for multidirectional application of hydrodynamic disintegration in the process of two-stage sludge digestion" (R1401603), National Projects - Applied Research PBR I- III, 2007-2010. Project funded by the National Centre for Research and Development. Project leader: Prof. Dr. hab. Eng. Jan Suschka.
• Project "Integrated system to support the management and protection of a reservoir" (POIG 01.01.02-24-078/09), 2010-2014. Consortium with Śląski University in Katowice, Krakow University of Technology and the Institute of Industrial Areas in Katowice. The project is co-financed by the European Union from the European Regional Development Fund under the Innovative Economy Operational Programme.
• Project "Heavy metals in sewage sludge and ecological risk" (DMN8), awarded by the Institute of Environmental Engineering of the Polish Academy of Sciences, 2018. The project is funded by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education. Project leader: dr inż. Malwina Tytła.
• Project "Chemical form of heavy metals in sewage sludge as an indicator of ecological risks" (2018/02 / X / ST10 / 02130), awarded in the MINIATURA2 competition, 2018-2020. project leader: dr inż. Malwina Tytła.
• The project "Method for binding metals in sewage sludge and ecological risk" (2019/35 / D / ST10 / 02575), awarded under the SONATA15 competition, 2020-2023. The project is funded by the National Science Centre. Project leader: dr inż. Malwina Tytła.

In 2018-2020, the acquisition of 3 research projects - research funded by the National Science Center and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.