Odra

•    On 21 May, another meeting of the Crisis Management Team of the Ministry of Climate and Environment took place.
•    The team's current recommendations focus on water resource management for the protection of the Oder River. Key measures include increasing the flow of the Oder through the use of reservoirs. The activities are carried out by the Polish Waters, which is the main entity responsible for water management and cooperates continuously within the Oder working groups.
•    The specific indications of the  Crisis Management Team of the Ministry of Climate and Environment also concern the management of flows in canals, rivers and reservoirs, for limiting the movement of accumulated quantities of 'golden algae.'
•    In the Gliwice Canal, under the scientific supervision of the Institute of Environmental Protection – National Research Institute, a measure has been applied for several days since 20 May to help reduce 'golden algae' so that as little of this algae as possible enters the Oder current.
•    The Crisis Management Team of the Ministry of Climate and Environment has introduced new recommendations for the services on emergency preparedness, in the event of a drop in oxygen saturation of water, which is possible with changing weather and storms.
•    A I level alert issued by the GIOŚ is still in force for the Oder. The services have not recorded any fish die-offs in the Oder River.
•    Laboratory tests have found no or only trace amounts of the so-called prymnesin toxin in the water.
Detailed information. Ongoing activities
During the next meeting of the Crisis Management Team of the Ministry of Climate and Environment, led by Deputy Minister Urszula Zielińska, experts introduced recommendations to improve the situation in the Oder River and the Gliwice Canal. The meeting, attended by representatives of the ministries of climate and environment, industry, infrastructure, as well as the Polish Waters and the voivodes of the five riverside voivodeships, took place on 21 May.
The Crisis Management Team of the Ministry of Climate and Environment, after analysing the current situation, has updated the recommendations for action for the crisis management centres. The recommendations focus on water resource management for the protection of the River Oder.
Key measures include increasing the flow of the Oder through the use of reservoirs to counteract the potential for algae growth. In addition, recommendations have been made for the management of flows in canals, rivers and reservoirs, for limiting the movement of accumulated amounts of 'golden algae.' These activities are undertaken by the Polish Waters, which is the main entity responsible for water management and is constantly cooperating within the Oder working groups.
Among the most recent recommendations is also a particular monitoring of dissolved oxygen values in the water, as rivers and reservoirs can experience sharp drops in oxygenation during storms and sudden weather collapses. This situation can lead to fish dying due to what is known as 'suffocation.' Ministry experts recommended that services should be on standby for local water aeration operations.
The Chief Inspectorate of Environmental Protection (GIOŚ) monitors the abundance of 'golden algae' in the Gliwice Canal and the Oder River. According to the analysis of samples taken on 20 May, the invasive alga is now present from the village of Łany, where 29 million cells per litre of water were recorded on 20 May, to Słubice and Cigacice, where the 'golden alga' is present in numbers of around 7-14 million cells per litre of water.
Numbers of the invasive alga remain at similar levels to last week and a I level alert issued by GIOŚ remains in place for the Oder River. At the same time, it is worth noting that the services have not recorded any fish die-offs in the Oder. In addition, laboratory tests found no or only trace amounts of prymnesin toxin in the water.
The situation on the ground is constantly monitored by the services of the voivoides and the staff of the Polish Waters. The Ministry of Climate and Environment is also in constant contact with the German side, which confirms the results of the Polish research on the occurrence of 'golden algae' and the lack of toxicity.
Since Monday, 20 May, a measure has been applied in the Gliwice Canal under the scientific supervision of the Institute of Environmental Protection – National Research Institute, to help reduce 'golden algae' so that as little of this algae as possible enters the Oder current.  
The Ministry of Climate and Environment is using all available countermeasures to reduce the possibility of a toxic bloom of 'golden algae' in the Oder.
Solutions are being developed to manage risk on an ad hoc basis. On Wednesday, 29 May, a meeting of the inter-ministerial team for the Oder River will take place, where, among other things, details of a new hydrological model developed by IMGW-PIB will be presented, which will enable discharges to be 'seen' and managed to reduce the accumulation of pollutants in the river, especially during the forecast drought.
The next meeting of the Crisis Management Team of the Ministry of Climate and Environment is scheduled for 28 May. The results of the Oder monitoring studies, together with an analysis of the degree of threat, are available at: www.gov.pl/web/odra

The Ministry of Climate and Environment, together with the Ministries of Infrastructure, Industry, State Assets and Interior and Administration, is also working intensively to address the causes of the problem, which is salinity and water pollution. Studies are being carried out on the possibilities of increasing retention by industrial plants located in the Oder River basin and the implementation of investments in mine water desalination. These are long-term measures, spread over time, but necessary to improve the situation of the Oder and the Gliwice Canal

- said Urszula Zielińska, Deputy Minister of Climate and Environment.