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Environmental information systems
Poland
Poland
97%
of the population in 2023 was supplied
with drinking water in line with the EU legislation
High quality, safe and sufficient drinking water is essential for public health and well-being. The Directive EU 2020/2184 (recast - DWD) is the EU’s main law regulating the access to and the quality of water intended for human consumption.
Is the drinking water supplied to the population of Poland compliant with the minimum water quality requirements of the EU legislation?
In 2023, 97% of the total population of Poland, corresponding to 36.7 million people, was supplied with drinking water meeting the minimum water quality standards set out by the recast Drinking Water Directive. This percentage is above the EU average of 86.9%.
For the methodology applied to calculate the affected population shown above, please read the relevant note at the bottom section of this webpage.
Figure 1
Population supplied with compliant drinking water, in 2023
Percentage (%)
Table 1
Population affected by exceedances, for different groups of water supply zones, in 2023
%
Population
affected by exceedances
How many exceedances of drinking water quality standards were reported? What were the causes?
In 2023, 639 exceedances of drinking water quality standards were reported in Poland out of 8.857 samples taken in total. The percentage of samples with exceedances (7.2%) is above the EU average (1.5%). The key causes of these exceedances are shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2
Causes of exceedances for different size groups of water supply zones, in 2023
By double-clicking the legend you can select individual causes and by simple clicking select/deselect these.
More on water supply zone (WSZ) groups
Figure 3
Parameters with the highest number of exceedances for different size groups of water supply zones, in 2023
Presents the top ten parameters with the highest number of exceedances in Poland.
By double-clicking the legend you can select individual parameters and by simple clicking select/deselect these.
Pesticide metabolites and further parameters to be monitored from 2026 onwards
Figure 4
Time needed for the remedial of exceedences by actions for different size groups of water supply zones, in 2023
Displays the top ten parameters with the greatest number of exceedances in Poland.
By double‑clicking the legend, users can select individual remedial actions, and by a single click they can select or deselect them. The filter enables the selection and display by groups of remedial actions.
How many incidents related to drinking water are reported? What were the causes?
Incidents are drinking water quality issues that have caused a potential risk to human health, lasted for more than 10 consecutive days and affected at least 1 000 people, regardless of whether any failure to meet the established parametric values occurred.
In 2023, 991 incidents related to drinking water, which lasted more than 10 consecutive days and affected at least 1,000 people, were reported in Poland. The key causes of these incidents for different sizes of water supply zones are shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5
Causes of incidents for different size groups of water supply zones, in 2023
By double‑clicking the legend, users can select individual causes of incidents, and by a single click they can select or deselect them.
In 2023, 2.96% of Poland's total population, corresponding to 36.7 million people, was affected by incidents. The share and number of the population affected for different size groups of water supply zones are shown in Table 1.
Table 2
Population affected by incidents, for different groups of water supply zones, in 2023
%
Population
affected by
incidents
Figure 6
Time needed for the remedial of incidents by action, for different size groups of water supply zones, in 2023
By double‑clicking the legend, users can select individual remedial actions, and by a single click they can select or deselect them. The filter enables the selection and display by groups of remedial actions.
If you want to learn more about the number of incidents, causes and population affected, explore the expert dashboard.
How many derogations from the established water quality standards were granted in Poland? On what grounds?
In 2023, 13 derogations from established drinking water quality standards were reported in Poland and 0.6% of the total population was affected by these derogations (~227,600 people), this is above the EU average of 0.13%. The derogations granted in 2023 were based on the grounds shown in Figure 7.
Read more about temporary derogations
Figure 7
Proportion of derogations by ground used, in 2023
Percentage (%)
Table 3
Population affected by derogations for different group of water supply zones, in 2023
%
Population
affected by
derogations
Figure 8
Parameters with the highest number of derogations, in 2023
Presents the top ten parameters with the highest number of derogations granted in Poland.
By double‑clicking the legend, users can select individual parameters, and by a single click they can select or deselect them.
Learn more into the expert dashboard.
What are the current costs of the remedial actions related to derogations in Poland?
The current costs of the remedial actions related to derogations in Poland are estimated at 5,068,458 euros.
Figure 9
Current costs of the remedial actions related to derogations in euros per year, in 2023
Euro
Notes
- ↵European Parliament, 2023, 'Revision of the drinking water directive', ( https://www.europarl.europa.eu/legislative-train/theme-environment-public-health-and-food-safety-envi/file-revision-of-the-drinking-water-directive ).
Notes
*The affected population by exceedances / incidents is reported by countries for unique combinations of water supply zone, parameter, period (end date - start date) and cause. Therefore, double-counting is theoretically possible if countries have reported the same population exposed to an exceedance or incident for multiple parameters, overlapping periods andmultiple causes. Therefore, the calculation considers only the maximum population that was affected in each WSZ by any exceedance / incident for all relevant parameters, periods and causes. This is a conservative method to capture the potential reach of the most significant events that occurred over the reporting period in each WSZ. The affected population is expected to be underestimated in cases where countries report similar types of exceedances / incidents (i.e. same parameter, period and cause) for different locations / sub-areas of the same WSZ, because such spatial separation within the WSZ cannot be known in advance and captured from the reporting results. The affected population in each country is the aggregation (sum) of the maximum affected population from all water supply zones in the country. The affected population in the EU is the aggregation (sum) of the affected population from all countries in the previous step.
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