In Poland, a law reducing VAT tax and excise duty on petrol  - costing the state budget hundreds of million euros a month - can be passed in a single day. Meanwhile, the country’s strategic water policy remains fragmented, incomplete and - most importantly - largely absent in the national energy planning.

This is a serious systemic mistake. As hydrological drought intensifies, water is becoming one of the key pillars of national security - on par with energy resources and electricity.

Poland is entering an era of water deficit

Poland has some of the lowest water resources in Europe both in absolute terms and per capita. Average annual water availability per capita is comparable to that of European island member statess, and in dry years it drops to levels typical of semi-arid regions.

At the same time:

• hydrological droughts are becoming more frequent,
• river flows are declining,
• wildfire risk is increasing,
• soil moisture balances are deteriorating,
• forest structure and ecosystems are changing.

Poland’s Institute of Meteorology and Water Management (IMGW) regularly warns about the growing risk of drought and its consequences for the economy and the environment. These are no longer isolated weather anomalies - they represent a structural shift in the country’s operating conditions.

Energy systems cannot function without water

In public debate, drought is still largely treated as a problem affecting agriculture or forests. Yet its consequences for the energy sector are equally serious - and in the long term may prove critical.

Large-scale power generation in Poland depends heavily on water availability:

• coal-fired power plants require water for cooling,
• gas-fired plants also depend on stable cooling resources,
• the power system relies on generation units located along major rivers,
• hydrological constraints may force reductions in electricity production.

This is not a theoretical scenario. Across Western Europe, power plants have already been forced to limit output multiple times due to low river levels and high water temperatures.

Poland is hardly prepared for this risk.

Energy planning continues to ignore hydrological reality

Despite mounting threats, Poland’s energy system planning still only marginally accounts for:

• declining availability of cooling water,
• rising river temperatures,
• more frequent drought periods,
• increasing competition between economic sectors for water resources.

As a result, infrastructure decisions taken today may create growing operational risks for the electricity system in the future.

Energy security cannot be assessed independently of water security.

The state responds faster to fuel prices than to the water crisis

The speed with which VAT tax and excise duty on petrol have been lowered  demonstrates that the Polish state  can act quickly when it considers an issue strategic. Differences between political parties, the government and the Polish president can be reconciled.  No comparable determination is visible in water policy.

For years, Poland has lacked:

• a coherent national water management strategy,
•  effective measures to curtail water pollution by mining and industry
• integration between water and energy policy,
• recognition of water as critical infrastructure.

This is particularly alarming at a time when climate change is steadily increasing pressure on fresh water availability.

Water should be treated as a strategic national resource

In the twentieth century, oil was the foundation of energy security. In the twenty-first century, that role is increasingly being taken over by water.

Without stable water resources, there will be no:

• resilient energy system,
• stable industrial sector,
• secure agriculture,
• functioning cities,
• effective climate adaptation.

Treating water as a secondary resource is a strategic mistake.

Poland urgently needs a shift in approach: integrating water policy into energy planning, infrastructure strategy and national security frameworks. Until that happens, the country’s energy system will continue to develop in isolation from one of the most important constraints of the future.

On the basis of: https://wysokienapiecie.pl/118457-obnizke-podatkow-na-paliwo-uchwalono-w-jeden-dzien-polityka-wodna-stoi-od-lat/