EVALUATION QUALITY OF SEDIMENTS FOR AQUATIC POLLUTION CONTROL IN SLOVAKIA

Aquatic sediment contaminated with heavy metals is still an unsolved problem in Europe. The problem is serious also in the Slovak water reservoirs. Water reservoir Ruzin located in east Slovakia (situated on the Hornad river) is one of the most contaminated sites by heavy metals coming from abandoned metallurgical mines produced acid mine drainage (AMD). These acidic waters, which frequently contain high concentrations of heavy metals, often have adverse effect on the quality and ecology of waters receiving the effluent. Bottom sediments in this reservoir are contaminated above all by heavy metals, which are alluvial into the reservoir from localities of former mining activities and thus they represent ecological load mainly at the inputs into reservoir. The large share of pollution is coming from the Hnilec catchment where is situated the abandoned mine Smolnik. The aim of this paper is assess the quality of sediments along its course from the source (Smolnik creek – Hnilec creek) to the mouth (reservoir Ruzin) based on the requirements of Slovak and EU legislation. Use of these tools can provide essential characterizations of key watershed sources, sensitive receptors, natural variation, and both natural and anthropogenic stressors. Only with these multiple tools and an understanding of their interactions can reliable determinations of sediment pollution and longterm consequences be made. Then cost-effective, environmentally protective management decisions can be made about the type, extent, and need for sediment remediation.