The pilot of 24/7 monitoring of the Oder River has started
06.04.2023
As agreed with the Ministry of Climate and Environment, the Inland Fisheries Institute - National Research Institute, the Institute of Environmental Protection, and the Chief Inspectorate of Environmental Protection have introduced continuous pilot monitoring of the Oder River.
The Inland Fisheries Institute - National Research Institute, the Institute of Environmental Protection - National Research Institute, and the Chief Inspectorate of Environmental Protection have introduced pilot 24-hour monitoring of the Oder River. The research is carried out using automatic measuring probes and takes place at eight representative locations on the River.
The installed equipment performs continuous measurements of physicochemical parameters of the Oder River's water, such as water temperature, dissolved oxygen, conductivity and pH. The results of the measurements are transmitted online and presented at 1-hour intervals on a portal specially developed by the Chief Inspectorate of Environmental Protection.
The system is currently undergoing a testing phase, after which the results will be available to the interested authorities and services.
The monitoring system with new measurement points to be located on the Oder and other major Polish rivers will undergo continuous development.
The Oder is the best-studied river in Europe
Following the fish die-off situation in the Oder River last year, at the behest of the Minister of Climate and Environment, the Chief Inspectorate of Environmental Protection proposed new guidelines in surface water testing methodology and developed a procedure for monitoring Prymnesium parvum, the so-called golden algae. At present, the primary activity of the Inspectorate of Environmental Protection, in addition to regular water monitoring within the framework of the State Environmental Monitoring Programs, is to take water samples at 20 measurement points within the framework of emergency monitoring and phytoplankton testing to confirm the presence and abundance of golden algae in the Oder River.
The research methodology introduced by the service for the Oder River goes significantly beyond the obligations of the EU Directives, making the Oder's waters the best-studied inland flowing waters in Europe for both physico-chemical parameters and the presence of golden algae.
As a reminder, verified data from the Oder intervention monitoring carried out at 20 points twice a week can be found at: gov.pl/odra.