Water-related conflicts in urban areas in Poland

Abstract

Water-related conflicts in urban areas have a long history. Recently, the rapidly growing portion of the global population living in urban areas outnumbered the rural population, with consequences in the massive concentration of freshwater demands and of wastewater generation, lumped over land areas covered by the urban fabric. Water-related conflicts in urban areas may come about in relation to three categories of water problem: having too little water, too much water, or seriously polluted water. Conflict, controversies and tensions over water occur between urban and rural populations, between upstream and downstream riparians, and between different water uses (such as agricultural irrigation, municipal demands, industry and energy production). This study reviews the characteristics and mechanisms of water-related conflicts in urban areas in Poland. Diffuse water pollution in upstream land areas influences water quality (and water treatment) in downstream urban areas. In contrast, point-source water pollution via urban pollution load (e.g. raw, untreated municipal and industrial sewage) contaminates river water over a long distance downstream of a town. Levees protecting agricultural and rural areas upstream of a large town eliminate natural storage areas, whose presence would be beneficial for weakening the impetus of a flood wave in a large conurbation. During the dramatic River Odra flood in Poland in July 1997, breaching of levees upstream of a large town was considered as a lesser evil, but not implemented, due to strong resistance. Environmental legislation, such as directives of the European Union, generates another type of water-related conflict in Poland, which is also reviewed. Citation Kowalczak, P. & Kundzewicz, Z. W. (2011) Water-related conflicts in urban areas in Poland. Hydrol. Sci. J. 56(4), 588–596.