On the first day of the event, there will be interesting technical workshops led by experts in the field of law and consulting. Then, a plenary session was held during which the difficult subject of obtaining sources of financing for investments in the field of water management and protection against floods was discussed. The highlight of the substantive part was a panel discussion on crisis management in water management led by Witold Sumisławski, Plenipotentiary of the Mayor of Wrocław and MPWiK SA for Stormwater and Meltwater Management snows.

Leaders draw conclusions and plan for a better future

From left to right: Marek Borkowski, Aquanet, Krzysztof Dąbrowski IGWP, Witold Sumisławski – Photo. Studio quality

The following people were invited to join the conversation, draw conclusions and look for effective solutions for the future:

• Marek Borkowski – Vice-Chairman of the Management Board and Development Director of Aquanet SA
• Krzysztof Dąbrowski – President of the Polish Chamber of Water Commerce (IGWP)
• Wojciech Szpakowski – Technical Director at Gdańskie Wody
• Przemysław Matyja – Director of the Planning Department of the City of Wrocław has
• Małgorzata Sikora – Director of the Regional Water Management Board in Krakow, State Water Holding Polish Waters
• Piotr Ziętara – Chairman of the Board of the City of Kraków Aqueducts
• Stanisław Gawłowski – Senator of the Republic of Poland
• Volodymyr Kondzolka – representative of the Drohobych Municipal Institute

Participants discussed, among other things, the experience of the flood in Wrocław in 1997, the degree of preparedness of the Polish water management infrastructure to the increasing effects of climate change and the experience of the recent ecological disaster on the Oder.

Piotr Ziętara speaks, Krakow Waterworks – Photo. Studio quality

Piotr Ziętara, Chairman of the Board of the City of Krakow Aqueducts, noted that currently, in crisis situations, a civil society has been born in Poland: our access to knowledge and contact with each other is incomparably greater than in 1997. An early warning system has been created, through which the local community supports specialized services in removing obstacles.

Successful cooperation is the basis of development

On the other hand, Marek Borkowski, Chairman of the Poznań Aquanet SA company, stressed the need for close cooperation between water supply companies and municipal units: in order to implement our investment plan – even in the case of green and blue infrastructure – there must be cooperation with the road administration so that these Dear could be unsealed. We are also mobilizing the Municipal Department of Architecture and Urban Planning, so that any plan it approves must include the maintenance of – said the president.

Marek Borkowski, Aquanet SA – Photo. Studio quality

Issues of effective cooperation not only with local government units but also with Polish waters were raised by Krzysztof Dąbrowski, President of IGWP: the cooperation between the regulator and the aqueducts must be improved. At the moment, we have a growing misunderstanding, which has recently led to a situation where the aqueducts are forced to seek help from the ministry… he noted.

From left to right: Krzysztof Dąbrowski, IGWP, Witold Sumisławski, leading the debate – Photo. Studio quality

Water – a resource, not a problem

Senator Stanisław Gawłowski and the director spoke about the need to take decisive action in favor of retention
Przemysław Matyja, Wrocław Town Hall – Photo. Studio quality

Water becomes a resource, not an engineering problem – it must be considered at all planning stages to come up with solutions that will be more efficient. I’m glad that awareness of this issue is quite high and the mayor of the city has issued an ordinance that requires all city units to address retention issues – said the town planner of Wrocław.

Less optimistic was the statement from the senator, who admitted to himself repeatedly encountering voices disregarding the value and need to consider retention and flood plains – we have a duty to protect them and enlarge the areas that retain water and humidity. Without awareness in this regard, we will not win the battle for green infrastructure he appealed.

Małgorzata Sikora, Polish Waters RZGW Krakow – Photo. Studio quality

The opinion of the previous speaker was shared by Małgorzata Sikora from the Krakow Regional Water Management Authority. As an authority issuing water permits and legal permits, unfortunately I say that everything sounds better on paper than in reality. For example, the construction of underground parking lots in Krakow harms the city’s water resources – investors only focus on profit, without thinking about the fact that they are drying up the surrounding ponds and wetlands, destroying the ecosystem and acting to the detriment of the local population population – admitted the director of Polish waters.

Crisis management – Ukrainian perspective

Round table

The statement by Volodymyr Kondzolka, who approached the issue of crisis management in water management from a difficult Ukrainian point of view, was extremely interesting: pflooding is a short-term crisis. In Ukraine, we are now struggling with long-term problems. This shows how important it is to create a “resilient city” – crisis management must be based not only on floods, but also on other long-term factors and stimuli that can seriously affect the functioning not only of water and sanitation infrastructure, but also heating and energy infrastructure he warned.

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