Threats to a small river and its urban catchment: Hydrological and hydrochemical assessment of Jaroszówka River in Białystok, Poland

Hydrological and hydrochemical analyses in the Jaroszówka river basin were carried out in hydrological year 2003. The quality of the Jaroszówka water is characterized by the lowest level of transformation of physical and chemical composition among the Białystok rivers. Specific pollution load, which was discharged from the catchment to the Jaroszówka riverbed was much smaller than the load discharged to the main Białystok waterway (Biała), but was similar to the load of the small urban rivers (Bażantarka and Dolistówa). A lower degree of the Jaroszówka spring water transformation demonstrates a significant role for pollution that flows directly to the riverbed.