The impact of a reservoir on the physicochemical properties of water in a mountain river

The article presents the changes in the physicochemical properties (temperature, conductivity and pH) of the water in the Ropa River in the Polish Carpathians that were caused by the Klimkowka Reservoir, which was commissioned for operation in 1994. The study uses data mainly from daily measurements of the physicochemical properties of the water in the Ropa River. The measurements were taken during the period prior to the reservoir being built (1982-1993) and from the period after the dam became operational (1994-2006). The measurements were conducted 16km downriver from the dam. The conducted analysis shows that the Klimkowka Reservoir radically changed the thermal conditions and the annual cycle for water conductivity in the Ropa River. The pH of the water in the Ropa River experienced the smallest changes.