EN
Miedwie Lake is the biggest post-glacial lake of the West-Pomeranian Voievodship. At the same time it is the fifth of the largest lakes in Poland. Miedwie Lake is situated centrally between three big agglomerations, i.e. Szczecin, Stargard Szczecinski and Pyrzyce. Miedwie Lake has been since 1976, the potable water source for the City of Szczecin. The reservoir is used not only for municipal purposes, but also for fishing, tourist and recreation purposes. Unfortunately, heavy metal pollution is an ever-increasing problem. These toxic heavy metals on entering into the aquatic environment are adsorbed onto particulate matter, although they can form free metal ions and soluble complexes that are available for uptake by biological organisms. Many of these metals tend to remain in the ecosystem and eventually move from one compartment to the other within the food chain. The increase in residue levels of heavy metal content in water, sediments and biota has resulted in decreased productivity and increase in exposure of humans to harmful substances. Food chain contamination by heavy metals has become a burning issue in recent years because of their potential accumulation in biosystems through contaminated water, soil, sediment and air. The present research work deals with the quantification of toxic heavy metals in the water samples collected from Miedwie Lake (North-West Poland).