The research was conducted in Karczemne Lake (area, 40.4 ha; maximum (max.) depth, 3.2 m) and Klasztorne Małe Lake (area, 13.7 ha; max. depth, 20.0 m) located in the Kashubian Lake District (Northern Poland). From the beginning of the 1950s, these reservoirs have received municipal and storm wastewater. The long-term process of lake contamination has shaped the specific buffer capacity conditions and influenced the circulation of carbonate and bicarbonate in the water of these ecosystems. Extremely high concentrations of nutrients (Karczemne Lake: max. total phosphorous (TP) level, 7.5 mg P L⁻¹; max. total nitrogen (TN) level, 5.6 mg N L⁻¹; Klasztorne Małe Lake: max. TP level, 20.6 mg P L⁻¹; max. TN level, 43.3 mg N L⁻¹) have caused very intensive primary production processes (Karczemne Lake: max. chlorophyll-a level, 193.40 µg m⁻³; max. Secchi disc visibility, 0.85 m; Klasztorne Małe Lake: max. chlorophyll-a level, 160.01 µg m⁻³; max. Secchi disc visibility, 1.15 m). In the polymictic Karczemne Lake, the pH value of all water columns exceeded 10.0 (max. pH, 10.41), and in the meromictic Klasztorne Małe Lake, the pH of the surface water layers oscillated around 9.5. In the polymictic Karczemne Lake, despite intensive photosynthesis, the calcium content and alkalinity were similar throughout the whole water column due to constant circulation. In the meromictic Klasztorne Małe Lake, during the growing season, a decrease in calcium concentration and alkalinity of the surface water layers and an increase in calcium concentration at the bottom were noted.

Artificial mixing and phosphorus inactivation methods using aluminum compounds are among the most popular lake restoration methods. Długie Lake (Olsztyńskie Lakeland, Poland) was restored using these two methods. Primarily, P precipitation and inactivation methods significantly increased the sorption properties of Długie Lake bottom sediment. Fifteen years after the termination of the restoration procedure, the alum-modified “active” sediment layer still has higher P adsorption abilities, which can limit P internal loading. Relatively low amounts of phosphates in the near-bottom water of Długie Lake, even in anoxia, as well as the fact that the assessed maximum sediment P sorption capacity is still higher than NH₄Cl–P (labile P) and BD–P (Fe-bound P) sum (“native exchangeable P”), confirm that hypothesis. Among the tested P adsorption models for the sediment, the double Langmuir model showed the best fit to the experimental data (the highest R² values). This may indicate that phosphorus adsorption by the tested sediments most likely occurs through phosphate binding at two types of active sorption sites. P adsorption by the studied lake sediment during experiments was significantly connected to aluminum content in sediment. The research into the adsorption properties of sediment can be used as a tool for the evaluation of lake restoration effects.

The study was conducted on Długie Lake (area 26.8 ha, maximum depth 17.3 m), located in the town of Olsztyn, in north-eastern Poland (the Masurian Lake District). For 20 years starting in the 1950s, Długie Lake was used as a receiver of raw domestic and storm sewage in quantities oscillating between 350 and 400 m3 day–1. This led to complete degradation of the lake, known as saprotrophy. After some preliminary protective treatments in the catchment, the lake has been renewed by artificial aeration with thermal destratification and the phosphorus inactivation methods. Long-term reclamation of the reservoir has resulted in distinct and durable improvement of water quality. Before the restoration, the average phosphorus concentration in the surface water layer was 0.079 mg P L−1 and in the over-bottom water it reached 2.277 mg P L−1. The total phosphorus (TP) level also was very high, i.e. up to 3.5 mg P L−1. After the restoration, these values have declined to 0.001–0.017 mg P L−1 in the case of mineral P, and the current TP concentrations do not exceed 0.350 mg P L−1.

The study was conducted on Długie Lake in Olsztyn, which for 20 years since the mid-1950s served as a domestic and storm wastewater receiver, which led to its complete degradation. The discontinuation of wastewater inflow in 1976 caused a change in the trophic state from saprotrophic to hypertrophic. Evident improvement of water quality was possible only after the implementation of proper restoration techniques. Długie Lake was subjected to artificial aeration with thermal destratification (1987–2000). After all opportunities to improve water quality in the lake by artificial aeration (low phosphorus sorption capacity of sediment) had been exhausted, it was decided that a phosphorus inactivation method using the coagulant PAX 18 be used (2001–2003). Before restoration, the nutrient concentration in the near-bottom water layer of Długie Lake was very high at 22.9 mg TN L⁻¹ and 3.50 mg TP L⁻¹. The average amount of chlorophyll a was ca. 200 μg L⁻¹, and the Secchi disc visibility did not exceed 1 m. In 2017, 14 years after termination of the lake restoration process, the total phosphorus concentration at the bottom was 0.21 mg P L⁻¹ on average, and the total nitrogen was 1.5 mg N L⁻¹. The mean transparency of the water oscillated around approximately 5 m, and the amount of chlorophyll a was 1.86 μg L⁻¹. Studies have shown that the most important step in reclamation is to prevent pollutants from entering the lake to the maximum extent possible and to use a combination of several reclamation methods as a matter of good practice. Stable environmental conditions have developed in the lake, and the values of chlorophyll a and the Secchi disk visibility indicate that the lake has reached a mesotrophic state.