Using deep wells in many places in the country is still the only way to access water. Even in places where water supplies already exist, many people do not choose to change. For some it is a habit, for others groundwater is healthier, and for still others it is a cheaper solution. Until now the topic of using deep wells was almost unnoticed. Until now. The public opinion is increasingly receiving signals about inspections and penalties imposed on owners of deep wells. Why? Exceeding the daily water consumption. At first glance this may seem funny, because many Poles do not even know about such things, so the penalty for using water that is under a private plot may seem even more abstract. But that is the law in Poland. All water belongs to the State Treasury, and its careless use is prohibited.
The daily limit is only 5 cubic meters of water
Few owners of deep wells, especially those who have had them for years, know that there is such a thing as a limit on the use of groundwater. This is set in water law. The average annual consumption cannot exceed 5 cubic meters per day. Exceeding this amount of water carries penalties, and they are huge. In 2023 there was a revision of water law. In Article 472aa the legislator provided penalties ranging from 5,000 zlotys to 1 million zlotys. Importantly, owners of deep wells who extract water without a water permit were not included in these sanctions. This meant that the maximum penalty amount for exceeding the limit was not specified. The basis for financial sanctions is 500% of the variable fee payable for water extraction. This means that the more water we use and the longer we do it, the higher the penalty can be. In this situation there is no upper limit, so one can expect that when an official “has no mercy” the penalty could reach even hundreds of thousands of zlotys. Someone will say abstraction. No. The case of such a high penalty is already known . A 100,000 zloty fine was imposed on a resident of Podlasie, whose inspection showed that he consumes about 45 cubic meters of water daily. Part of it was to be used for agriculture.
Well owners do not have meters
Disadvantageous to owners of deep wells is that most do not have meters indicating actual consumption. During an inspection, officials may order the installation of such a device, but that may not mean the end of problems. Inspectors calculate water consumption based on the performance of the device that helps bring water to the surface. It is not about buckets, which are still an integral part of many wells, and pumps that allow water to be delivered directly to the household water system. If the homeowner installed powerful equipment but does not use its full capacity, then he can become a hostage of his own decision, because officials may remain deaf to such explanations and impose the maximum penalty.
Why are inspections increasing?
The fact that inspectors are increasingly visiting Poles who own wells is a result of hydrological problems. Poland has been dealing with drought for a long time. This means that groundwater is used more than it replenishes. To prevent the situation from getting out of control, inspections are carried out to regulate the market.
At this occasion voices arise that maintaining the state of waters is only a pretext, and the real reason is the search for money that is missing from the budget. Penalties can be a large source of revenue. After the inspection, the well owner who extracts more water may also be forced to obtain a permit to extract a larger amount of water, for which he will have to pay market rates. This can also translate into an improved budget situation. These are only speculations, but as the saying goes “there is a grain of truth in every rumor”, so whether it can be true, everyone must answer for themselves.
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