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The study attempts to answer the following question: Does human impact contribute to changes recorded in the Ner river ice regime? In replying to this question, data on water consumption in Lodz (Łódź) (a city in central Poland) in 1951–2017 were used, as well as observations of ice cover and all ice phenomena for the same period. The ice regime and water temperature of the river have changed over the past 70 years. The changes result not only from changes caused by global warming but also from additional fluctuations in this temperature as determined by changes in the quantity and quality of wastewater discharged into the river from the Lodz city agglomeration. The frequency of ice phenomena in the river decreased, and their duration dropped by almost half. This tendency was compounded by a decrease in number of days with ice phenomena, which in turn was caused by a rapid increase in the amount of waste and thermally polluted waters supplied from Lodz. The river water temperature has now stopped increasing. The course of the river ice regime now resembles that of a natural watercourse again. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flooding of the urban transport systems is becoming ever more common, and their ability to function under such conditions requires detailed research. The main objective of this study was to determine the changes (mainly in their spatial nature) of intra-urban transport accessibility of a large city (Lodz) when impacted by urban flooding. The study utilised a variety of data, including the Digital Terrain Model, the Topographic Object Database and the Road Transport Speed Model. These were employed to determine those areas where disruption to the transport system may occur under varying degrees of rainfall (15-minute rainfall with a 20% probability of occurrence and maximum daily totals – an empirical probability of approximately 1.4%). Next, the changes in potential accessibility due to the occurrence of flooding were determined for different scenarios (various depths of flood water). In order to identify the absolute and relative changes in potential accessibility following a flood in the different scenarios, its value in a "normal" situation had to be calculated for all journey lengths in question. The study revealed that there is no correlation between the location of flooded sections of the network and the spatial differentiation of drops in travel times (analysed topologically) or declines in potential accessibility (irrespective of how attractive the destination is). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study concerning the hydrological impacts of urbanization in the Sokołówka catchment in Łódź, Poland. An assessment of the extent of the catchment transformation is given, along with the investigation of the impacts of urbanization on the course of river flood waves. The study demonstrates the dynamics of the run-off process in urban catchments and suggests the construction of retention reservoirs and polders.