The impact of a reservoir on the physicochemical properties of water in a mountain river

Abstract

Abstract The article presents the changes in the physicochemical properties (temperature, conductivity and pH ) of the water in the R opa R iver in the P olish C arpathians that were caused by the K limkówka R eservoir, which was commissioned for operation in 1994. The study uses data mainly from daily measurements of the physicochemical properties of the water in the R opa R iver. The measurements were taken during the period prior to the reservoir being built (1982–1993) and from the period after the dam became operational (1994–2006). The measurements were conducted 16 km downriver from the dam. The conducted analysis shows that the K limkówka R eservoir radically changed the thermal conditions and the annual cycle for water conductivity in the R opa R iver. The pH of the water in the R opa R iver experienced the smallest changes.