Chapter 3
Administration of Water Resources
Management: Key Facts About Water
Resources in Poland
Katarzyna Kubiak-Wójcicka
Abstract This chapter reviews and evaluates institutional solutions related to water
management. It indicates which institutions have been responsible for water management in Poland in the last dozen or so years and what institutional changes have been
introduced since 2018. The study identifies the main problems that over recent years
have resulted from water management by various institutions responsible for key
issues regarding water quantity and quality. The main problems related to proper
water management in Poland include lack of uniform interpretation of water law,
lack of a coherent information system, and access to information by both water
management employees and water users. In order to deal with these problems, first
of all, there should be conducted a series of training for both employees and stakeholders regarding a uniform interpretation of water law. A full assessment of the water
management reform implementation in Poland and of all the changes introduced after
2018 will be possible in about 2 or 3 years.
Keywords Water management · Water law · Institution · Organizational chart ·
Water resource · Governance · Poland
3.1 Introduction
Water is a resource directly relevant to the development of society. It has always
been the basis of civilisation. Unlimited use of water resources by humans and their
activity has led to their exhaustion or degradation as well as transformation of water
conditions.
The extent of these changes and problems caused by them are dependent on
various factors, which include the amount of water resources, their availability, and
management. Hence, in a number of scientific publications there appear considerations on water resources management in different countries, e.g. the Netherlands [1],
Italy [2], Spain [3, 4], Switzerland [5], Ukraine [6, 7] and many others [8–10].
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.), Management of Water Resources in Poland, Springer Water,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61965-7_3
23
Administration of Water Resources
Management: Key Facts About Water
Resources in Poland
Katarzyna Kubiak-Wójcicka
Abstract This chapter reviews and evaluates institutional solutions related to water
management. It indicates which institutions have been responsible for water management in Poland in the last dozen or so years and what institutional changes have been
introduced since 2018. The study identifies the main problems that over recent years
have resulted from water management by various institutions responsible for key
issues regarding water quantity and quality. The main problems related to proper
water management in Poland include lack of uniform interpretation of water law,
lack of a coherent information system, and access to information by both water
management employees and water users. In order to deal with these problems, first
of all, there should be conducted a series of training for both employees and stakeholders regarding a uniform interpretation of water law. A full assessment of the water
management reform implementation in Poland and of all the changes introduced after
2018 will be possible in about 2 or 3 years.
Keywords Water management · Water law · Institution · Organizational chart ·
Water resource · Governance · Poland
3.1 Introduction
Water is a resource directly relevant to the development of society. It has always
been the basis of civilisation. Unlimited use of water resources by humans and their
activity has led to their exhaustion or degradation as well as transformation of water
conditions.
The extent of these changes and problems caused by them are dependent on
various factors, which include the amount of water resources, their availability, and
management. Hence, in a number of scientific publications there appear considerations on water resources management in different countries, e.g. the Netherlands [1],
Italy [2], Spain [3, 4], Switzerland [5], Ukraine [6, 7] and many others [8–10].
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.), Management of Water Resources in Poland, Springer Water,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61965-7_3
23