GB No. 3(18)/95

THE OPEN LETTER
CONCERNING THE RIVER PARSĘTA

The Parsęta Lovers Association in Białogard appeals for help in protecting the Parsęta against its devastation. The most beautiful river of Pomorze is endangered by numerous poachers as well as the scheme promoted by the Union of Towns and Villages of the Parsęta Basin. The Union plans to build six storage reservoirs: two on the Parsęta, the fifth on the river Radwia and the sixth on the Mogilica in the village of Lipie.

The above mentioned scheme creates many hazards for the local natural environment, namely:

• it is going to destroy fish spawning grounds (according to Prof. Bartel, there are only few of them already);
• it will hinder migration of bulltrout and salmon (as it happened in the case of the Roscin dam);
• the character of the river will change, e.g. through the temperature rise and decrease of oxygen saturation, etc.;
• the ecosystem of the whole basin will be changed (the largest reservoir planned in Osówka is going to cover an area of 350 ha and be 14 km long.)
• large wooded areas will be felled (valuable species of tree will be cut down, e.g. old oaks)
• rare birds and mammals will migrate (such as osprey, eagle, black stork, kingfisher, otter, water shrew);
• the character of tributaries above the planned reservoirs will alter: from trout/grayling rivers into slowly flowing ones (e.g. the river Debica will be shortened by about 40% by the planned arm of the reservoir)
• the scheme will make impossible restoring salmon in the river, which is planned by the Polish Angling Union;
• the scheme will also hinder making use of the natural values of the basin (i.e. attractive location, beautiful landscape, natural river bed, an excellent angling resort for Polish and foreign anglers, clean air, rich undergrowth, etc.)
• walking and canoe tracks will be less attractive (e.g. on one side of the Osówka reservoir an earth bank is planned to reach 12 m.)

  All the enumerated above threats prove that the hydroengineering scheme is aimless and money-consuming, and the Union of Towns and Villages of the Parsęta Basin will not accomplish the aims it has planned. Namely:

• tourism will not develop around the reservoirs owing to the neighbouring Drawsko Lake District, numerous lakes in the Parsęta basin and the vicinity of the sea;
• energy production by hydro-powerplants will be unsatisfactory;
• the scheme will not decrease the rate of unemployment in the region as the related works will have to be completed by specialised companies coming from out of the region or from abroad;
• sewage treatment plants will be built and modernised but it will be financed by the towns and villages of the region, the voivodship and state treasury and not by the Union of Towns and Villages of the Parsęta Basin.

The Parsęta Lovers Association suggests the following ways of managing the basin:

• protection against pollution and poaching;
• stocking of rivers with such fish as trout and bulltrout;
• re-introduction of salmon;
• creating tourism infrastructure (i.e. building hostels, camp sites, roads, etc.)
• improving water ratios by e.g. building cataracts or managing old river beds;
• promotion of natural values of the Parsęta basin in Poland and abroad.

The Society gathers mainly citizens of Koszalin voivodship and as an only organisation it has been dealing with protecting the Parsęta and its basin against further devastation and poaching in the area.

We count on the support of the Polish Angling Union, the Nature Protection League, the Fund for Environmental Protection, of other environmentalist organisations and funds and, first of all, of the scientific circles.

We hope that our appeal will meet with interest not only of the press and the problem will be thoroughly studied. We also believe that all people who care for the Parsęta and its basin will come into contact with our Society. Your support for our appeal will help to prevent the Parsęta from the disaster that happened to the Dunajec and other Polish rivers.

on behalf of the Board
Chairman Andrzej Wolkowski

Our address:

Towarzystwo Miłosników Parsęty
the Parsęta Lovers Association
Klub Osiedlowy BSM
Wojska Polskiego 13
78 - 200 Białogard
translated by Małgorzata Maciejewska
reprinted from Zielone Brygady 7/94