Water pollution and climate change are the core reasons for the depletion of oxygen in the rivers of the Podlasie and Mazovian provinces, experts say.

Alicja Baczynska reports

Designated bathing areas remain closed in the Zegrze Reservoir, north of the capital since last Friday, following reports of scores of dead fish floating on its surface, due to low oxygen levels. The popular weekend destination for Warsaw residents will remain off-limits until results of the second probe into the water quality, initiated yesterday, is completed. No bacteriological or chemical contamination has so far been detected, nor any symptoms pointing to pollution of water intakes.

The incident is far from being an isolated case, as depletion of oxygen in the waters has been pointed as the sole cause of mass fish mortality in rivers of the Podlasie region, including Liwiec, Wieprz, and the fourth-largest river in Poland, the Bug.

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