Monitoring studies of the quality of the soil and water environment in the former Barycz mining area of the Wieliczka Salt Mine, a section currently used as municipal landfill, have been continuously conducted since 2000. The location of monitoring sites and the range of the monitored parameters were selected based on available historical data, taking into account the local geological and hydrogeological structure as well as hydrological conditions in the area of potential impact of the landfill. The Malinówka catchment monitoring study conducted by Wieliczka Salt Mine and MEERI PAS covers both a point above the landfill (point E) and a point located below the municipal landfill (point D) (Fig. 1). The adopted sampling scheme allows a comparison of the current level of contamination below the landfill with the local hydrogeochemical background, which the results of the measurements of the chemical composition of w ater in the headwater region of the Malinówka stream may be taken to represent. The paper pres ents averaged quarterly results of water quality measurements of the Malinówka stream betw een 2012 and 2014. Chloride, nitrate, and phosphate concentrations in the waters of the Malinówka stream sampled at the site below the landfill were, on average, several times higher than in the headwate r regions. The chloride content in the water below the landfill was, on average, about 50 mg/dm3, while below the landfill it increased four-fold. Nitrate and phosphate content increased several-fold, but presented low values of up to several mg/dm3. Generally, there was no significant increase in heavy metal content at the site below the landfill. Their values both at point E as well as point D are low, often below the limit of quantification. In the waters of the Malinówka stream below the landfill (point D), only small increases in copper, zinc, and mercury content, and in individual cases chromium, were observed.
Between 2012 and 2014, this analysis included several series of quality studies of brines from pressure relief wells and groups of wells in the former Barycz mining area (E-872, E-945, and E-627 wells, also S1 group of wells). By knowing the chemical composition of brines and by comparing them with the parameters characteristic of the surface water in the area associated with the impact of the landfill, conclusions can be drawn about the share of the analysed sources in the contamination of the waters of the Malinówka stream. Brines tend to dis play very high mineralisation associated mainly with the presence of chlorides. In the sampled brines, indices characteristically displaying elevated values in surface waters at the site below the landfill (point D) were also measured. Content of nitrates and phosphates in brines are at the level obtained for surface water of the Malinówka stream. The brines were analysed for mercury content; this was found at a level ranging from 0.001 to 0.002 mg/dm3, i.e. slightly higher than in the surface streams.
An analysis of water quality in the Malinówka stream and in brines may be an important element in the process of identification of pollution sources caused by discontinued mining operations and the ongoing operation of the municipal landfill. The presumed directions of groundwater flow and infiltration indicate a potential mixing zone of rainwater, shallow groundwater, and landfill leachate. Due to the geological and hydrogeological conditions of the area, there is a visible increase in the chloride content in the water of the Malinówka stream which may be related both to the potential impact of the landfill as well as to the impact of the presently discontinued borehole mining of rock salt (mainly pressure relief wells and deformation of rock mass). In contrast, an increase in the content of nitrates and phosphates may be the result of the impact of the landfill or local watercourses and drainage ditches fed by contaminated rainwater and possibly domestic waste from the nearby farms. Additionally, an increase in the content of certain metals in waters may suggest a negative impact from the landfill. An increase in the mercury content at the site below the landfill confirms the existence of two-way hydraulic contacts with infiltration wat ers in the rock mass. The existing research results make it possible to confirm the type of contamination sources; however, the results are inadequate for a more accurate determination of the impact on the size of the cumulative load of contaminants in the Malinówka stream waters below the mining area, i. e. below the Barycz landfill phase I. Verification and extension of research in the analysed area are recommended to achieve this aim.
