Water Quality Crisis at Pwik – Case Study

Polish water market has changed substantially over last 20 years following a transformation to free market economy and democratic political system. In vast majority of cases water and wastewater infrastructure has been given to municipalities, which have also became responsible for delivery of water supply, wastewater collection and treatment services to its citizens by respective regulation. Consequently municipalities created self‐standing organizations to provide these services mostly in a form of limited liability companies wholly owned by municipalities. Such division has resulted in highly fragmented market structure, whereas almost each one of 2500 municipalities owns its separate system and organization to operate it. Privatisation examples are less common than in other countries after transformation, i.e. Czech Republic due to recognition of water as kind of “national treasure” and its supply as strategic. Only five companies got different involvement of private, foreign capital between 1993 and 2002 and no new projects were completed after that period.