Chapter 17
Water Problems in Urban Areas
Tadeusz Ciupa and Roman Suligowski
Abstract The chapter presents selected issues of the water environment of Polish
cities. Attention is drawn to the causes of periodic excess of rainwater and surface
runoff, with particular emphasis on sealed areas. The influence of these areas on the
shaping of dynamics and the size of flood waves, and on flood risks as a consequence
is demonstrated. The occurrence of floods of various genesis (precipitation, snow
thawing, ice jams, frazil ice, sea storms, caused by failures of damming facilities) is
discussed. The importance of small streams in the geoecosystem of a city with regard
to their functioning and management is presented. The importance of surface water
(including lakes and water reservoirs) in the land use structure and their use, mainly
for recreational purposes (bathing areas) is presented. The issues of groundwater
are also outlined along with the determination of selected threats to their quality.
The structure of water usage in Polish cities in the years 1989–2016 is characterized
in spatial terms. The importance of the human-water environment interaction with
the maintenance of the sustainable development of the city in terms of ensuring the
safety of its inhabitants is referred to. On the example of selected cities, a series
of activities of an administrative, technical and pro-ecological nature are presented.
These have a spatial and socio-economic dimension, anchored in the European and
Polish legal system.
Keywords Human—Aquatic environment interactions · Urban floods · Water
consumption · Water policy · Poland
T. Ciupa (B) · R. Suligowski
Department of Environmental Research and Geo-Information, Institute of
Geography and Environmental Sciences, Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce,
Uniwersytecka 7, 25-406 Kielce, Poland
e-mail: tadeusz.ciupa@ujk.edu.pl
R. Suligowski
e-mail: roman.suligowski@ujk.edu.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_17
399
Water Problems in Urban Areas
Tadeusz Ciupa and Roman Suligowski
Abstract The chapter presents selected issues of the water environment of Polish
cities. Attention is drawn to the causes of periodic excess of rainwater and surface
runoff, with particular emphasis on sealed areas. The influence of these areas on the
shaping of dynamics and the size of flood waves, and on flood risks as a consequence
is demonstrated. The occurrence of floods of various genesis (precipitation, snow
thawing, ice jams, frazil ice, sea storms, caused by failures of damming facilities) is
discussed. The importance of small streams in the geoecosystem of a city with regard
to their functioning and management is presented. The importance of surface water
(including lakes and water reservoirs) in the land use structure and their use, mainly
for recreational purposes (bathing areas) is presented. The issues of groundwater
are also outlined along with the determination of selected threats to their quality.
The structure of water usage in Polish cities in the years 1989–2016 is characterized
in spatial terms. The importance of the human-water environment interaction with
the maintenance of the sustainable development of the city in terms of ensuring the
safety of its inhabitants is referred to. On the example of selected cities, a series
of activities of an administrative, technical and pro-ecological nature are presented.
These have a spatial and socio-economic dimension, anchored in the European and
Polish legal system.
Keywords Human—Aquatic environment interactions · Urban floods · Water
consumption · Water policy · Poland
T. Ciupa (B) · R. Suligowski
Department of Environmental Research and Geo-Information, Institute of
Geography and Environmental Sciences, Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce,
Uniwersytecka 7, 25-406 Kielce, Poland
e-mail: tadeusz.ciupa@ujk.edu.pl
R. Suligowski
e-mail: roman.suligowski@ujk.edu.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_17
399