The main purpose of this work was to determine the degree of negative impact of heavy metals accumulated in the water sediments to aquatic organisms. Samples of sediments were collected in winter 2013, from 4 layers of sediment (0-5, 5-10, 10-20 and 20-30 cm) at three points along the water reservoir. Sediments were prepared for analysis in accordance with the procedures applied in soil science. The analysis was carried out for the fraction with a particle diameter less than 1 mm. The total content of such elements as Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn, was determined by atomic absorption spectrometry (using the Thermo Scientific iCE 3000 series spectrometer) after digestion in a mixture (5:1) of concentrated acid HNO3 (65 %) and HClO4 (60%). The total Hg content was obtained by using the AMA 254 analyzer. Only the lead content in the analyzed samples of bottom sediments exceeded the contamination value given by polish law (the Regulation of the Minister of Environment). According to the classification of PGI samples of sediments are classified mainly as medium polluted sediments (Class II), with the exception of zinc and lead concentrations (Class III). Due to the value of the indicator ...
