At the end of the 1970s, Poland was faced with a threat of slowing economic development due to the deficit of high quality water. This threat did not have enough time to fully develop because of the breakdown of the socialist economic system.

However, although there was a recession and in effect a decrease in the demand for water, the regional and local barriers for development manifest themselves as the lack of water in small cities and in a significant number of rural areas. This is especially true in areas which experience surface water deficits.

Economic growth in any sector will result in an increase in the demand for water. In the municipal and the agricultural sectors, the demand for water is especially great. It is evident that the demands of intensive farming are already equal to the existing available water resources. The situation is thus much more dramatic due to the tragic quality of surface waters in Poland. The poor quality of the waters however, is due to the prolonged, inefficient water use by industry and the municipal sector, and due also to the much neglected sewage treatment plant construction.

In order to improve the situation, it is necessary to increase the availability of water resources by developing natural retention and also, where possible, by building retention reservoirs. It is also necessary to improve the quality of surface waters. Plans to improve surface waters include building of new efficient sewage treatment plants and technologies which would allow for significant reduction of nutrient compounds, especially those containing phosphorus.

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