Freshwater bodies have been long observed to become browner within the northern hemisphere. This brownification, has made drinking water production difficult, since increased organic content in freshwaters requires higher dosages of chemicals during water treatment.  Changes in land use through increased industrial forestry, decreased sulphur deposition from reduced industrial emissions, changing patterns of hydrological and meteorological parameters resulting from climate change, including recently highlighted increase in iron concentrations have been proposed to explain brownification. Drained peat bogs are man-made source of brownifying substances, capable of causing brownification in the rivers and lakes where the water ends up.

This research is aimed at investigating dissolved organic matter, total organic carbon, iron, phosphorous, nitrogen and colour in bog ditches draining into the Storån River and Lake Bolmen in southern Sweden, in order to answer these research questions: (1) What are the differences in the level of water quality parameters, pH, conductivity, temperature, DOM, TOC, total phosphorous, total nitrogen, Fe and colour, between bog ditches and Storån River? And what could be the outcome of Colour absorbance comparison, between bog ditches, Storån and lake Bolmen as a single control sample? (2) Is there any association among the different water quality parameters, pH, conductivity, temperature, DOM, TOC, total phosphorous, total nitrogen, Fe and colour within the bog ditch water?

Water samples from bog ditches and their corresponding Storån River locations, were used in the analysis. DOM and flow showed significant differences, after statistical test for difference. Conductivity, DOM, total nitrogen and total phosphorous exhibited significant correlations with pH.  TOC also had a correlation with DOM., while colour correlated and depended strongly on Fe, within the bog ditches. Therefore, the bog ditch has behaved to contribute some amount of the brownification, found in Southern Swedish Lakes and Rivers.

This knowledge might be useful in future, for more studies and control of Swedish fresh water brownification.