Evaluation of Water Quality from the Zimny Sztok Spring (Southern Poland)—Preliminary Results

Abstract

Enabling citizens to have access to good-quality water is an important challenge in the 21st century. Water quality in springs located in urban areas may deteriorate as a result of natural and anthropogenic factors. The quality of water in springs is influenced not only by rock weathering, evapotranspiration and climate change but also by the lack of sustainable resource use. Anthropogenic activities, including industrial and domestic and agricultural activities, may not only lead to an increase in pollutants such as nitrates, chlorides and heavy metals but also to the development of dangerous bacteria. Research on water quality was conducted in two series of measurements at the Zimny Sztok spring (southern Poland), located in an urban space. The results of the analyses indicate that the waters of this spring, despite anthropogenic pressure, exceeded the permissible values for drinking water only in terms of the total number of microorganisms. Unfortunately, this was not confirmed by Water Quality Index (WQI) values. These were approximately equal to 99 in the first measurement series and about 41 in the second series. Maintaining appropriate water quality is one of the goals of rational water management, and the constant control of selected parameters in the water falls within the scope of the concept of smart city/smart water. The example of this spring shows that the water was used by residents without information about its current physicochemical parameters and bacteriological composition. This problem can be solved in the future by implementing a monitoring system for this point. The aim of this work was to examine the quality of water in the spring, use the WQI to determine the potential risks and present the general problem of people consuming water from urban sources without knowing about their parameters.