POLLUTION OF THE PICHNA RIVER IN LIGHT OF THE REVALORISATION OF TOWN PARK IN ZDUŃSKA WOLA

Abstract

The historic town park in Zduńska Wola in its central and northern part is a designated conservation area pending on the local spatial development plan and the Registry of Historical Monuments. The composition of the park is diversified, with the highest elevation point in its northern part, sloping to the south towards the valley of the Pichna River which feeds two park ponds, including the bigger one with an island, which closes a compositional axis, and the smaller one – a remnant of a long gone fire-fighting reservoir. The area holds considerable natural values, because of an old-growth forest and the described water system. Extensive research and numerous analyses were conducted in the course of the preparations for the park revalorisation. They included an assessment of the sanitary condition of the Pichna River waters, which flow through the park and feed the ponds. It turned out that the level of contamination (caused, among others, by discharges of untreated water from the nearby traffic routes) made it impossible to carry out the revalorisation, while letting for the ponds to be further fed with the river waters. In order to ensure a satisfactory level of water quality and clearness in both ponds, a decision was made to introduce complex and advanced technology to renovate the water system. The introduced solutions gained recognition from the Provincial Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management, which granted considerable funding and an award in the contest ‘Natural treasures of the Łódzkie Voivodeship – program for the revitalisation of historical parks’.