Dead fish on Lake Dabie. Is there a repeat of the Oder disaster?

Śnięte ryby

Two years after the mass slaughter of aquatic animals in the Oder River, on June 18 this year. The dead fish appeared on Lake Dabie near Szczecin. The opening of the bathing area in Lubczyna, officially scheduled for last Saturday, has been canceled due to the incident. The State District Sanitary Inspector in Goleniow has taken water samples for testing, and for the time being there are red flags hanging on the beach prohibiting swimming.

Where did the dead fish come from? Is it the golden algae again?

So far, the cause of the plague on Lake Dabie has not been determined. The West Pomeranian Voivodeship Office in Szczecin reported that since last Tuesday, firefighters in cooperation with Polish Water employees have fished out a total of about 1,250 kg of dead fish. The largest number, as much as 800 kilograms, was caught on Thursday, and since then fewer and fewer dead fish have been caught every day.

Inspectors from the Provincial Inspectorate for Environmental Protection in Szczecin and representatives of the Polish Water Authority are trying to determine what the cause of the fish’s death in the lake is. The first suspicion was a bloom of golden algae, whose toxins – prymesin – caused an environmental disaster on the Oder River in 2022. However, the water samples taken showed that the concentration of problematic algae in the water was at 39 million cells per liter. Such counts do not indicate a bloom or the threat of toxic effects on fish. Harmful effects of P. parvum on ichthyofauna are observed only at an abundance of 50-100 million cells/l.

The theory of heavy metal poisoning of the fish has also not been confirmed. The Goleniow District Veterinarian, after examining the fished out fish, found that the levels of lead, arsenic, cadmium and copper in the tissues were below standards. Other, as yet unconfirmed hypotheses speak of disease, or a change in the chemical properties of water.

What is the situation on the Oder River?

Lake Dabie is located in the Lower Oder Valley and connects to the East and West Oder rivers through the Regalica, Danczec and Swieta. The dead fish that were fished out in Lubczyna thus became a wake-up call, after which West Pomeranian Governor Adam Rudawski ordered a meeting of the Provincial Crisis Management Staff. The meeting was informed that water tests in Widuchowa, 35 kilometers south of Szczecin, showed low concentrations of algae in the water.

This does not mean that the situation is good. The dead fish appeared in the Oder River earlier on June 10-12. As Dziennik Lodzki reported, as much as 600 kg of them were fished out in Glogow. Among them were not only fry, but also mature individuals of 60-80 cm in length. Elevated levels of golden algae were identified in water samples taken at the time.

The incident prompted the mobilization of the WIOŚ in Wroclaw, which also ordered water testing at other locations on the Oder River and connected reservoirs, including. In Prężycki Lagoon and Czernica.

What are the prospects for Oder?

On June 19, at the initiative of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Protection, a meeting of the inter-ministerial team for the Environment and Climate was held. Oder. It was informed that an active hydrological model has been launched to forecast how the situation on the river will develop. At the same time, water level monitoring has been expanded from 9 to 30 measurement points due to the increased threat, which also affects canals and reservoirs connected to the Oder River. The team will now meet on a weekly basis.

The IOC reported that the population of golden algae at the measurement points, in the river’s current, is decreasing and remains below the warning level. The highest levels were detected in Bytom Odrzanski, Slubice and Widuchowa, while on the Gliwice Canal, where a level III threat was recorded in May, the golden algae began to disappear.

However, the situation that the dead fish will again appear in the Oder cannot be ruled out. According to the ministry, their bloom is expected in the spring and summer, and is favored by the river’s increased salinity, which in turn is the result of water discharges from mining plants into the Gliwice Canal. The latter now functions as an incubator for dangerous microorganisms.

To reduce the risk of environmental disasters on the Oder River and its connected reservoirs, the ministry plans to implement systemic preventive solutions. Their main goal is to effectively desalinate mine water and increase retention within mining facilities. As early as 2023. KGHM announced plans to invest PLN 1 billion in the construction of a brewed salt plant that will allow the desalination of streams, helping to protect the Oder River ecosystem.

Assistant Icon

Używamy plików cookie, aby zapewnić najlepszą jakość korzystania z Internetu. Zgadzając się, zgadzasz się na użycie plików cookie zgodnie z naszą polityką plików cookie.

Close Popup
Privacy Settings saved!
Ustawienie prywatności

Kiedy odwiedzasz dowolną witrynę internetową, może ona przechowywać lub pobierać informacje w Twojej przeglądarce, głównie w formie plików cookie. Tutaj możesz kontrolować swoje osobiste usługi cookie.

These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems.

Technical Cookies
In order to use this website we use the following technically required cookies
  • wordpress_test_cookie
  • wordpress_logged_in_
  • wordpress_sec

Cloudflare
For perfomance reasons we use Cloudflare as a CDN network. This saves a cookie "__cfduid" to apply security settings on a per-client basis. This cookie is strictly necessary for Cloudflare's security features and cannot be turned off.
  • __cfduid

Odrzuć
Zapisz
Zaakceptuj