Chapter 2
Assessment of Water Resources in Poland
Katarzyna Kubiak-Wójcicka
Abstract The paper analyzes the size of water resources in Poland, which are among
the lowest in Europe. Water resources are very variable, both temporally and spatially,
which results from the temporally and spatially variable distribution of atmospheric
precipitation, whose course is random. The average annual total outflow from Poland
in the years 1951–2015 was about 61 km
3 , ranging from 37.5 km
3 in 1954 to 89.9 km
3
in 1981. The average unit outflow from the years 1951–2015 was 5.4 dm
3 /s·km
2 in
the Vistula basin, and 4.7 dm
3 /s·km
2 in the Oder basin. One way to reduce excesses
and deficits of water may be to undertake small-retention reservoir projects within
agricultural catchments and in urban areas. Such works have been implemented in
Poland as part of a small-retention programme by Lasy Pa´ nstwowe (State Forest
Holding) in mountainous and lowland areas. A separate problem related to the use of
water resources is the level of water intake and consumption by various sectors of the
national economy. The reduction of water consumption can be achieved in various
ways. One of the simplest, but also the most severe for all users, is to increase the
price of water. However, the most practical solution is to invest in the most modern
water recovery and reuse technology in industrial plants, agriculture, and newly
built residential buildings. Nowadays, technical solutions using rainwater in singlefamily houses are becoming increasingly popular in Poland. This water is most often
used for watering gardens. However, there is little interest in the construction of
purification and reuse systems for previously used water (“grey water”), mainly due
to high installation costs. Grey water recycling or rainwater management not only
significantly reduces operating costs, but also has tangible environmental benefits.
Keywords Water resources in Poland · Outflow · Flow variability · The Vistula
river · The Oder river
K. Kubiak-Wójcicka (B)
Department of Hydrology and Water Management, Faculty of Earth Sciences and Spatial
Management, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Lwowska 1, 87-100, Toru´ n, Poland
e-mail: kubiak@umk.pl
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
M. Zeleˇ náková et al. (eds.), Quality of Water Resources in Poland, Springer Water,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64892-3_2
15
Assessment of Water Resources in Poland
Katarzyna Kubiak-Wójcicka
Abstract The paper analyzes the size of water resources in Poland, which are among
the lowest in Europe. Water resources are very variable, both temporally and spatially,
which results from the temporally and spatially variable distribution of atmospheric
precipitation, whose course is random. The average annual total outflow from Poland
in the years 1951–2015 was about 61 km
3 , ranging from 37.5 km
3 in 1954 to 89.9 km
3
in 1981. The average unit outflow from the years 1951–2015 was 5.4 dm
3 /s·km
2 in
the Vistula basin, and 4.7 dm
3 /s·km
2 in the Oder basin. One way to reduce excesses
and deficits of water may be to undertake small-retention reservoir projects within
agricultural catchments and in urban areas. Such works have been implemented in
Poland as part of a small-retention programme by Lasy Pa´ nstwowe (State Forest
Holding) in mountainous and lowland areas. A separate problem related to the use of
water resources is the level of water intake and consumption by various sectors of the
national economy. The reduction of water consumption can be achieved in various
ways. One of the simplest, but also the most severe for all users, is to increase the
price of water. However, the most practical solution is to invest in the most modern
water recovery and reuse technology in industrial plants, agriculture, and newly
built residential buildings. Nowadays, technical solutions using rainwater in singlefamily houses are becoming increasingly popular in Poland. This water is most often
used for watering gardens. However, there is little interest in the construction of
purification and reuse systems for previously used water (“grey water”), mainly due
to high installation costs. Grey water recycling or rainwater management not only
significantly reduces operating costs, but also has tangible environmental benefits.
Keywords Water resources in Poland · Outflow · Flow variability · The Vistula
river · The Oder river
K. Kubiak-Wójcicka (B)
Department of Hydrology and Water Management, Faculty of Earth Sciences and Spatial
Management, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Lwowska 1, 87-100, Toru´ n, Poland
e-mail: kubiak@umk.pl
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
M. Zeleˇ náková et al. (eds.), Quality of Water Resources in Poland, Springer Water,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64892-3_2
15