Oder River automatic monitoring data – available online
30.05.2023
As agreed by the Ministry of Climate and Environment with the Chief Inspectorate of Environmental Protection, the Institute of Environmental Protection – National Research Institute and the Inland Fisheries Institute – National Research Institute, the continuous monitoring of the Oder River was piloted on 31 March 2023. Measurement data will be made public from 30 May 2023 after the system tests have been completed.
Monitoring is carried out as a pilot, supra-institutionally in selected locations. Link to the monitoring: https://pomiary.gios.gov.pl/
The first stage of calibrating the 24-hour monitoring of the Oder River has now been completed. It is a pilot system where different types of probes - both floating and anchored on hydro-technical equipment - are being tested to select the optimal solution. The system is still being calibrated and expanded. Measurements with automatic probes have their peculiarities. Periodically, there may be interference with the sensors. Therefore, it is a supplementary system supporting permanent monitoring conducted by the Central Research Laboratory of the Chief Inspectorate of Environmental Protection at 27 measurement and control points on the Oder River, its oxbow lakes, and the Gliwice Canal.
The 24-hour monitoring system will undergo continuous development with new measurement points to be located on the Oder River and other major Polish rivers. Analyses are carried out using automatic measuring probes and take place at nine representative locations in the river.
The installed equipment performs continuous measurements of physical and chemical parameters of the Oder's water in terms of parameters such as water temperature, dissolved oxygen, conductivity and pH. The results of the measurements are transmitted online and presented at one-hour intervals on a portal prepared by the Chief Inspectorate of Environmental Protection.
The Oder – 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 presented a proposal for 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, is to take water samples at 27 measurement points within the framework of emergency monitoring and phytoplankton testing to confirm the presence and abundance of golden algae in the River Oder.
The survey methodology introduced by the service for the Oder River goes significantly beyond its obligations under EU directives, making the Oder's waters the best-studied inland flowing waters in Europe for both physicochemical parameters and the presence of golden algae.
Verified data from the Oder intervention monitoring can be found in the Oder Research section of the portal: gov.pl/odra