Poland among countries most threatened by water shortages

There are currently about 100 retention reservoirs throughout Poland, and the level of this retention is 6.5 percent. This compares with as much as 45 percent in Spain, with 1,900 reservoirs. According to PGW Wody Polskie, to meet the needs of the economy and counteract the effects of drought, the level of retention in Poland should be at least twice as high. This, however, requires not only legal solutions and financial resources through dedicated retention support programs but also education, building broad public awareness of climate change and the possibility of reducing its effects. 

"We also need to give designers and developers the right tools to design our cities well. Wody Polskie reports that retention in Poland is at 6-7 percent, while the European average is 15-20 percent, while we – based on our knowledge of working for cities – know that this retention in cities is much lower. And this is mainly because there is a lack of retention reservoirs, which are simply expensive investments," Tomasz Grochowski, Retencja.pl CEO, stressed.

In Poland, there are about 1,800 cubic meters of water per inhabitant per year, but in periods of drought, the amount drops to as low as 1,100 cubic meters. In Europe, the average is almost three times higher, at around 5,000 cubic meters per person. Meanwhile, according to the definition adopted by the UN, the limit of "water stress," i.e. the threat of water deficit, is the threshold of 1,700 cubic meters per person.

(Newseria)