Historical water reservoirs – splash dams in the Low Tatras (Slovakia)

The paper analyses the development of historical water reservoirs (splash dams) in the Low Tatras region based on the interpretation of maps from the mid-19th century to the present. In the past, splash dams served as part of the system for floating timber down the Hron and Váh rivers. They represented a key hydro-technical element that significantly influenced the hydrological regime of rivers and the formation of the mountain landscape. The identification of historical splash dams was based on the analysis of maps of the 2nd Military Mapping (1836–1852), which were compared with current map data (ZBGIS, Orthophotomap of the Slovak Republic) and verified by field research.

Fauna of water mites (Acari, Hydrachnidia) in the stony littoral of water supply reservoirs in the Czech Republic

The article presents the results of a survey of the water mite fauna in 45 dam reservoirs in the Czech Republic that are sources of drinking wa-ter. In 37 reservoirs, the average seasonal concentration of chlorophyll a in water were lower than 20 µg/L, which indicates that most of these reservoirs have an oligotrophic to slightly mesotrophic character. Samples were taken with a hand plankton net in the stony littoral at a depth of 0.5–1.0 m at all localities; therefore, it is possible to compare findings from individual localities, although they do not represent quantitative data of water mites related to unit area or water volume. In total 1,356 water mites (849 adults, 507 nymphs) were caught and 34 species were recorded. Twelve species occurred in more than 15 % of the investigated reservoirs and accounted for 87.4 % of all individuals caught. These species show great locomotive activity, they are adapted for swimming/floating, and they commonly occur in the littoral fauna of European lakes.

Interview with RNDr. Pavel Punčochář, CSc., member of the Water Management Section of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic

Life by the Sázava river, an enthusiasm for “living sticks” and the microworld of aquatic organisms; twenty years devoted to science, followed by a turning point: T. G. Masaryk Water Research Institute during the transformative 1990s, and subsequently the Ministry of Agriculture. In this interview, RNDr. Pavel Punčochář, CSc. recalls the people who shaped him, the moments when the very existence of our institution was at stake, and explains, why the public will have to learn to trust predictions and effective water management solutions.