Influence of the Jeziorsko Dam Reservoir on Water Flow in the Warta River

Abstract

The progressing development of civilisation and climate change require access to an appropriate quantity of environmental resources. One of the key resources is water. Both its deficit and excess evidently affect human life. Control over water circulation is possible owing to water management, largely involving introduction of hydraulic structures. The paper analyses the effect of the Jeziorsko dam reservoir on the flows of the Warta River, the third largest river in Poland. It analyses water flows in the Warta River in the years 1993–2020 for hydrological stations above and below the reservoir. The conducted research showed that the construction of the Jeziorsko reservoir also substantially contributed to an increase in minimum flows and a decrease in maximum flows. Moreover, the simulation showed that in the case of abscence of the reservoir, the flows of the Warta River would be higher in the period from January to June, and in the period from July to October the opposite situation would occur. In November and December, the flows would be at a similar level. Results obtained in the study, show that hydraulic structures are an effective solution in the context of stabilisation of the hydrological situation in a given region, particularly in terms of hydrological lows occurring with increasing intensity mitigated on sections of rivers below the reservoirs.