Recovering water from waste water is increasingly used. It is a part of the circular economy, enabling saving water resources. The EU regulation to use reclaimed water to irrigate crops regulates the principles of appropriate water quality preparation and indicates the possibilities of its use. An important element of the regulation is the obligation to carry out a risk assessment as the basic tool to ensure safety in the use of reclaimed water. One of the uses of reclaimed water on green areas could be ski resorts producing artificial snow. The solution to produce artificial snow from reclaimed water is still not popular. No case realized in Europe could be found, although attempts were made in the Alps to implement such projects. Australia and the USA have the most experience. Despite the positive aspect of water recovery, there are questions about the impact of snow produced in this way on the environment and the safety of users. The first project to produce artificial snow using reclaimed water appeared in Polish ski resort Kasina. Its purpose is to feed the snow guns with water coming from the local waste water treatment plant. The quality parameters of water recovered as a result of MBR technology indicate that it meets the legal requirements; however, the plant operator did not receive a water permit. The solution may be to conduct a reliable risk assessment for this local solution.
The new Directive 2020/2184 of the European Parliament and the Council on the quality of water intended for human consumption (EU, Official J EU 23.12.2020.435, 2020) is to be transposed into the local law of all Member States by 2023 and its implementation will start thereafter. Therefore, it is important to identify what are the water utilities' greatest concerns. The Chamber of Commerce "Polish Waterworks" conducted two surveys among its members, aimed at understanding the needs of the water supply sector in the context of the new requirements of the directive. The surveys were conducted one year apart. The first in January 2019, the second in January 2020, when the new directive has not yet been adopted; however, its content was known to a close approximation. The article focuses on the issues of risk-based management, presents the responses of water companies, and indicates their needs. The research results indicate not only financial needs. A major challenge is the development of knowledge and competencies in the field of risk management in the water supply system. Enterprises need substantive support and their situation, despite the Chamber's actions, does not improve significantly. Surveys indicate the need for expert training and support in assessing and managing risks in water systems. It is necessary to reach the smallest entities with knowledge and support.
Objective: Directive 2020 / 2184 on the quality of drinking water and the European Green Deal introduce new requirements for assessing the quality of water services and the need to reduce water leakage. The main purpose of the article is to compare the methods of determining water losses used in Poland with international standards and to determine the readiness of Polish water supply systems to implement mandatory leakage estimation standards.Research Design & Methods: The article presents a review of the literature on water loss assessment methods in Poland and abroad. Data on water losses in 11 water supply systems were presented, based on the information from the Central Statistical Office and the literature. Based on the data, a comparative analysis of selected entities was carried out.Findings: With a ranking of water utilities created, the impact of input data and the adopted calculation methodology on the position of a given entity in the ranking were analysed. The assumptions made for the calculation of the indicators and the choice of the evaluation method are shown to be important in the assessment of the entities.Implications / Recommendations: Comparing the scope of data collected at the national level and the requirements for international standards, it can be concluded that in Poland these data are not sufficient to calculate the value of the ILI (Infrastructure Leakage Index). The ILI is known in Poland, but its application is limited to the local level. The introduction of new requirements for the calculation of ILI at the national level will require the implementation of methods for collecting large amounts of data from many water utilities.Contribution: Due to the important role water utilities play, the level of infrastructure maintenance in supply systems must be constantly controlled. One of the basic indicators for assessing the condition of the water supply network is water loss. The conclusion from the article can be used by water operators to better evaluate their systems. The results of the analysis indicate the need for further research and the development of new methods of assessing water supply systems. The research contributes to the development of several scientific disciplines: environmental engineering, mining and energy management and quality studies.
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