Water resources
The Upper Silesia and Bielsko-Biala Regions cover an area totalling more than 10,000 km2 with a current population of almost five million.
The extensive mining and industrial activities have degraded more than 15% of the area. Urban centres are dominated by heavy industries and coal mines, with 40,000 plants, factories and commercial enterprises, 10 % of which are important pollution sources. This region constitutes a major source of raw material for Polish economy, the centre of heavy industry and of electric power.
The Oder river basin covers an area of 3,450 km2 and that of the Vistula 7,130 km2 with a small part of the Danube river basin covering 24 km2.
The average annual runoff attains 96.5 m3/s (77.6 m3/s for the Vistula and 18.9 m3/s for the Oder drainage basin). According to a research carried out, 65% of the total length of the rivers, is contaminated, leaving only 20% carrying water for domestic and industrial uses.
Groundwater resources in the area reach up to 761.4 mm3/year (renewable resources) and
640.1 mm3/year (available resources). The aquifer water balance is perturbed as a result of mining activities and the increasing infiltration of rain and river water into the ground. Consequently, groundwater quality is poor, especially in the urban and industrial centres.
Drinking Water Supply and Sewerage Systems
Drinking water for Katowice and Bielsko-Biala provinces is supplied by a system first implemented in the 1970-80 period and drawing out water from the Mala Vistula, Sola, Skawa, Czarna Przemaza and Brynica rivers and also from reservoirs, the main one being Goczalkowice with a capacity of 164 m3. This system meets approximately 70% of the water requirements for domestic use, the rest comes from groundwater.
All activities linked with drinking water supply and wastewater discharges (investments, construction, operation and maintenance) were managed by a State-owned enterprise which, in 1991 was divided into several companies.
At present, responsibilities are shared as follows:
In the province of Katowice :
the Upper Silesia Water Supply Company (for global production and supply) and 18 regional water supply and sewerage companies (for municipalities, industries and wastewater collection and treatment),
In the province of Bielsko-Biala :
the AQUA Company Ltd (production and distribution of water for the town of Bielsko-Biala and the surrounding villages, and also wastewater collection and treatment) and 14 municipal drinking water and sewerage companies.
The most important water management issues
Water management is a very complex process that needs to be integrated as decisions to be made must take into account all the natural aspects of the water resources system (surface and groundwater), water quality (physical, chemical and biological), accessibility, inter-basin transfer, all sectors of the national economy conditioned by water supply (drinking water production and distribution, agriculture, energy, inland navigation, fishing, recreation) environmental protection, social, legal and institutional aspects on a national scale, priorities, from national to local level.
Bearing this is mind, the water management system founded on natural units (river basins), and supported by a highly qualified and experienced staff, and supervisory committees whose members are elected by the Government, local authorities and users, appears to be the most efficient.
Franciszek Tomiczek
RZGW Katowice
Fax : (48-32) 599 642
Activities
The main activities of Warsaw Agency consist in:
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defining the terms of reference and strategies for the utilization of water from the Middle Vistula river basin and above all, identifying present requirements and potential environmental hazards (SDAGE and SAGE),
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specifying the conditions for water utilization and establishing a diagnosis of the present state and problems related to water management, the hydroeconomic balance (qualitative and quantitative aspects of water resources in various basins),
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collecting data on water resources management and storing them in the regional databank,
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offering advice either on projects and construction sites which could affect the river basin management or on the requests received by the National Fund for Water Management and Environmental Protection, for financing the construction or modernization of installations, and establishing a priority list.
In order to accomplish these tasks, the Warsaw Agency has been divided into 23 units which cover the basin or part of the basin of the main tributaries and local aquifers.
Data are regularly updated: information is collected on users, pollution sources, wastewater treatment plants and surface or groundwater intakes.
The databank thus created is important, especially for the Departments for Environmental Protection of Voivoidships, as it is the future computerized record of authorizations for water utilization, thus enabling their control. The databank contains the inventory of all the projects being developed over the basin territory. It also collects information on charges levied for water utilization and wastewater discharge by the Regional Authorities on behalf of the Environmental Protection Fund. The Basin Committee
On February 16, 1993, the Warsaw Agency created the Provisional Management Committee for the Middle Vistula River basin. This Committee is composed of 66 members, representing in equal parts, the local authorities, the Regional Administrations and the users.
The work of the Committee is supervided by a Board of 6 members and its organization is based on the French model.
The members of the Committee work in four thematic groups:
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planning (quantitative and qualitative water resources, floods and drought),
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financing (credits, water charges, subsidies, duties for water supply and sewerage),
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data for the hydroeconomic balance, terms for water utilization,
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ecological education, tourism and public relations.
When the future Water Law (now being examined by the Diete) comes into force, the Agencies will become totally independent thanks to financial means provided by water charges. The Committee will then provide guidelines, while the Agency will have an executive role. The decisions made by the Committee, the "Water Parliament" will be compulsory for the Water Agency's activities.
The Warsaw Agency also deals with flood protection.
A twinning agreement with the French "Adour-Garonne" Water Agency
The Warsaw Agency is in close contact with the Adour-Garonne Water Agency in France. It all began in 1992 when some Polish participants were in France for a course organized by the International Office for Water.
Upon their return to Poland, they were able to take advantage of the French specialists' experience. When establishing the Organizational Regulations of the Provisional Water Resources Management Committee for the Middle Vistula River basin, the management of the Warsaw Agency used those defining the Basin Committee and the Board of Directors of the Adour-Garonne Water Agency.
A delegation of members of the Board of Directors of the Adour-Garonne Water Agency, visited Warsaw Agency on May 11-16, 1993. The French delegation became acquainted with Warsaw Agency's activities and had the opportunity of visiting some important installations, such as Warsaw water intakes "Gruba Kaska", the Wieliszew water supply network and the "Czajka" wastewater treatment plant.
On this occasion, a "twinning agreement" was signed by both Agencies and "Water Parliaments" - Basin Committees.
Andrzej Badowski
RZGW Warsaw
Tél/fax : (48-22) 46 61 97
In view of the specific problems of water utilization in the Upper Vistula River Basin, and the complexity of related issues, one of the priority action concerns analyses of water leaks and losses in water supply networks and the setting up of a monitoring system. In 1992, a system was developed by the Institute of Physical Planning and Municipal Management (IPPMM) of Krakow. RZGWs of Krakow and Katowice signed an agreement with more than ten of the largest water supply companies of the Upper Vistula River Basin.
The system operation relies on a mobile laboratory acquired by the Regional Diagnosis Unit (RDU) of the Institute, and mobile diagnosis equipment leased by RZGW Krakow to water supply and sewerage utilities and financed from a World Bank credit.
The problem of water loss raises increasing concern among the companies and there is also a growing demand for test analyses but this process is nevertheless much slower than expected. One of the reasons being that water charges form only a small proportion of the overall production cost of drinking water, another is that utilities are somewhat hesitant to reveal their water losses. It has become increasingly difficult for companies to convince local authorities to increase water charges for consumers without presenting detailed water consumption studies. Water losses over the RZGW's area of activity reach 18% on average but in some water supply systems the losses are up to 70%.
In 1993, RZGW Krakow, in an effort to attract the attention of a maximum number of consumers to the issue of water saving, offered its technical services and experience to the 114 water supply companies covering the large towns within its operating area and to selected rural municipalities. This offer was combined with a survey. RZGW Krakow received answers to the filled-up questionnaire and, on the basis of the data thus collected, established the "water map" of towns in the Vistula-Malopolska River Basin. As a result of this initiative and thanks to the cooperation of the International Office for Water,
a booklet entitled "Water Management in Towns of the Vistula-Malopolska River Basin" was elaborated and addressed to the Regional Inspectors for Environmental Protection and also to mayors of all the towns involved.
As concerns the 1995-1997 period, the agreement was signed by water supply companies covering the following municipalities: Bedzin, Bielsko-Biala, Bytom, Jaslo, Kielce, Krakow, Nowy Targ, Przemysl, Rzeszow, Tarnobrzeg, Tarnowskie Gory, Zabrze, Dabrowa Gornicza, Sosnowiec and Szczawnica. At present, RZGW Krakow is working out a cooperation agreement with regard to water utilities supplying rural communities located in areas that require particular protection.
These suppliers can lease the specialized diagnosis equipment and benefit from the services of RDU, as well as having the possibility of participating in training seminars.
Tomasz Walczykiewicz
RZGW Krakow
Fax : (48-12) 212 909
RZGW of Wroclaw in cooperation with the local Scientific and Technical Centre and governmental organizations, held a conference on wastewater treatment in the Oder basin, in Wroclaw on 1-2 June 1995. The organization of this conference in Wroclaw was justified by the announcement made to Parliament on January 18 by the Minister for Environmental Protection, Natural Resources and Forestry, about the impending signing of an agreement by Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic and the European Union with regard to the creation of an International Commission for the Protection of the Oder against pollution.
This conference is the first of a series of annual meetings on the topic of water protection and wastewater treatment in the Oder River basin. These will be organized in collaboration with regional water authorities, scientific circles, governmental services and professional NGOs. The organizers aim at transforming these into international conferences by associating representatives from the members countries of the above-mentioned International Commission for the Protection of the Oder.
Among the main recommendations, the following should be retained:
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the need to improve the regulations on the quality of wastewater discharged into the natural medium,
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the advantage of a certificate delivered by governmental agents after examination and assessment of a treatment plant operation and maintenance,
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the opportunity of creating a team of specialists within the Institute for Environmental Protection, in order to test the reliability of equipment used in treatment plants.
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the modification of operating authorizations during low-flow periods in order to enhance wastewater treatment by means of chemical processes in addition to biological ones and to encourage treated wastewater reuse for agriculture.
Andrzej Nalberczynski
RZGW Wroclaw
Fax : (48-71) 221 339
