Heavy metal contamination of waters in reservoirs in an urban agglomeration

The aim of the study was to estimate the degree of heavy metal pollution in water reservoirs in the city of Poznań as well as that in supply and outlet waters. The experimental data were compared with the results of mathematical analyses based on mathematical equations of linear regression that were derived. No considerable discrepancies were noted for zinc, cadmium, or copper in the 2004-2005 period.

The metal concentrations in the analyzed water reservoirs were affected by the neighboring agglomeration and land development in the catchment area. The lowest concentrations of analyzed metals in inflowing waters ranged from 0.013 μg dm^-3 for cadmium to 454 μg dm^-3 for zinc. The application of simple mathematical models may considerably facilitate forecasting adverse changes that occur in aquatic ecosystems.