Odra

The research currently being carried out is very accurate will capture the moment of intensive growth of ‘golden algae’ and predict a possible mass bloom of these algae

- explains Magda Gosk, acting Chief Inspector of Environmental Protection.

Conducting continuous tests is critical before the start of the growing season to control the scale of development of the phenomenon. As part of the intervention monitoring, they simultaneously provide the data necessary for further research work and the creation of an effective recovery plan for the Oder River.

Activities have not ended and are being carried out in multiple directions. The teams that have so far worked within the framework of the expert team set up by the Minister of Climate and Environment, continue to analyse the material in a targeted manner and carry out further research work

- explains Andrzej Szweda-Lewandowski, General Director for Environmental Protection.

The experts of the Team for the Situation Arising on the Oder River are working with researchers from other countries, e.g. Austria and the USA, analysing existing research and experience to find the most effective methods of counteracting the development of 'golden algae.' This is why activities to date in many places around the world where mass blooms of 'golden algae' are observed, as in Poland, focus on the analysis of physical and chemical parameters of water. It is known that a combination of many different factors influences the growth of these little-known algae. In addition to favourable pH, temperature and salinity values, the presence of food in the water in the form of nitrogen and phosphorus compounds is also crucial to the growth and activity of Prymnesium parvum. Researchers also draw attention to the silicon content, which is the building block of these microalgae and iron cells, which is necessary for the 'respiration' process. What factor directly determines the release of fish-killing ichthyotoxins has yet to be discovered. According to the literature, the release of prymnesins can occur with a sudden change in the physicochemical parameters of the water. These parameters also influence the toxicity of these compounds.

Scientists are still working intensively to explain the phenomenon, also with the Polish research teams. Moreover, a report is being prepared which will analyse the data obtained on the environmental conditions of the algal bloom.

Integrated monitoring on the Oder is conducted at 20 measurement and control points. In addition, it is also carried out on the Vistula and other rivers and the largest Polish reservoirs - at 74 measurement points in total. As the Chief Inspectorate of Environmental Protection informed in the communication of 13 February this year, the pilot study conducted in January 2023 did not confirm the occurrence of 'golden algae" outside the Oder and Gliwice Canal. The Central Research Laboratory of the Chief Inspectorate of Environmental Protection supervises intervention monitoring and state monitoring. The temperature, conductivity, pH, dissolved oxygen, chlorides, sulphates and sodium, nitrogen and phosphorus compounds, etc, are examined as part of the intervention monitoring. Phytoplankton surveys are carried out at nine measurement and control points on the Oder River and ten measurement and control points on the Vistula River and their larger tributaries: Barycz, Warta, Noteć, San, Wieprz, Pilica, Narew and Bug Rivers, as well as on 18 dam reservoirs, including eight reservoirs in the Śląskie Voivodeship and two reservoirs in the Łódzkie Voivodeship - Sulejów and Jeziorsko Reservoirs. Additional phytoplankton samples are taken in the Przemsza River, a major tributary of the Vistula River from the Silesian-Dąbrowa, even though this is not a phytoplankton river.

As part of the remedial action, the Inspectorate of Environmental Protection has developed a priority ‘Guidelines for planning the activities of the bodies of Inspectorate of Environmental Protection in 2023.’ These include activities related to the protection of water from pollution, including from agricultural sources. The document is also basis for the development of control plans drawn up by individual Provincial Inspectorates of Environmental Protection.

Environmental services cooperate on an ongoing basis with other entities of the state and local administration responsible for water management and environmental protection. The results of research executed as part of emergency monitoring of the Oder River and information on activities performed by the Team for the Situation Arising on the Oder River are published on the portal: gov.pl/odra. Details on water quality monitoring in Poland can be found on the portal of the Chief Inspectorate of Environmental Protection - surface water quality: wody.gios.gov.pl/pjwp