The Evaluation of the Possibility to Use the Water from Quarry Lakes for Irrigation

The paper presents the evaluation of the possibility to use the water from five quarry lakes located in County Strzelin for the purposes of agricultural irrigation. The evaluation was based on the guidelines provided by FAO and in PN-84/C-04635. The average values of water quality indicators were as follows: electrical conductivity – 0.365 mS×cm-1; Sodium Adsorption Ratio – 0.75; Total Dissolved Solids – 233.9 mg×dm-3; water pH – 7.8; BOD5 – 1.6 mgO2×dm-3, while the average ion concentrations were: nitrates – 1.6 mgN-NO3×dm-3; sulphates – 188.5 mg SO4×dm-3; chlorides – 30.95 mg Cl×dm-3; sodium 22.6, mg Na×dm-3; manganese – 0.05 mg Mn×dm-3; and iron – 0.04 mg Fe×dm-3. The values of the analysed indicators were similar to the concentrations noted in natural lakes and unloaded water reservoirs. The water from the analysed quarry lakes met (with some minor limitations) the requirements that enable its use for agricultural irrigation, in particular sprinkler irrigation.