Abstract
This paper presents changes in water and sewage management in the cross-border Oder River basin in the period since the post-communist political and economic system transformation, including the period after Poland’s accession to the European Union. The Oder River basin, with an area of 124,000 km2, is the second largest basin in the Baltic Sea Basin, and therefore requires particular protection. It was emphasised that in the years 1989–2017, water withdrawal for production purposes considerably decreased (by 42%), as well as water withdrawal for exploitation of the water supply system (by 33%). The amount of sewage discharged to rivers was also reduced (by approximately 50%), and treatment technologies considerably improved. Changes in water and sewage management were presented in spatial form, i.e. by hydrographic regions of the Oder River basin. Particular attention was paid to changes in sewage management in cities. They involved among others the liquidation of mechanical treatment plants and a considerable increase in the number of cities with treatment plants with increased nutrient removal. The analysis of the effect of the changes in water and sewage management on the quality of the Oder River and Baltic Sea was also performed, and the rate of decrease in loads of contaminants most harmful to water ecosystems was determined. The role of European Union funds and national funds in the implementation of investments in the scope of water management was emphasised. Finally, attention was drawn to the need to intensify works for protecting waters in agricultural areas, which currently constitute the primary threat to their quality. Several top-priority tasks were also specified that should be implemented in the near future for the purpose of obtaining a good ecological state of waters in the Oder River basin pursuant to the Water Framework Directive.
Highlights
This paper presents changes in water and sewage management in the cross-border Oder River basin in the period since the post-communist political and economic system transformation, including the period after Poland’s accession to the European Union
The analysis of changes in water management in the scope of water withdrawal and sewage treatment was based on data of the Central Statistical Office (CSO) in Warsaw
The response of water and sewage management to the political system transformation is one of the best examples of positive and extensive changes that occurred in the central part of Europe after 1989
Summary
This paper presents changes in water and sewage management in the cross-border Oder River basin in the period since the post-communist political and economic system transformation, including the period after Poland’s accession to the European Union. A free market economy began to be introduced in Poland in 1989, entirely changing the approach to water management issues It was decentralised, with a small contribution of private ownership (approximately 12%), in contrast to, for example, the Czech Republic, Portugal or Great Britain, where it reached 70–100%1. Poland had no chance to participate in the project of countries of Western Europe that from 1975 set binding water quality targets for drinking water and other uses and limits on emissions It did not implement the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive[3] or Nitrates Directive in the early 1990s. Analysis and assessment of changes in the scope of water withdrawal and sewage treatment in the Oder River basin (with particular consideration of cities) in the period of almost 30 years from the onset of the system transformation. Mean multiannual water discharge in the Warta River is 216 m3·s−1
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