Assessment of Susceptibility to Degradation by Schindler Factor of Selected Reservoirs In Podlaskie – Part I

The availability of water in adequate sufficient quantity and quality is the most important factor in maintenance of life and human activity. Surface water as easily accessible resources per citizen in Poland should not be compared to other countries of the European Union. Podlasie is a lowland region, which is dominated by vast plains occasionally varied by low hills with gentle slopes. Natural lakes occurring sparsely are heavily overgrown or completely restated as a result of moor succession. The storage of natural hollows which store water resulted in the construction of artificial dam reservoirs, allocated primarily to water accumulation. Lowland development of small retention mainly consists of increasing the retention capacity and prevention of drought and floods, while maintaining and supporting the development of the natural landscape. This article presents the characteristics of selected major small water reservoirs in Podlasie. Characterized and evaluated the susceptibility of dam reservoirs degradation: Czapielówka, Korycin, Otapy-Kiersnówek, Repczyce, Zarzeczany. To evaluate the susceptibility of degradation there was applied Schindler factor, which is the ratio of the accumulated surface water reservoir and its catchment area to the volume of the reservoir. In addition, the influence of development of catchment management and the degree of degradation has been evaluated. Realising aware of the limitations of the size of the water resources is suggested to take appropriate action to alleviate the degradation of artificial reservoirs.