The Polish hydrogeology had started its development at the end of the 19th century, before Poland was liberated. The needs for country restoration after the world war and for ensuring water supply for communities and industry required construction of many water intakes and water reservoirs. On the other hand, the development of ore deposits, e.g. hard coal seams, needed dewatering of mines and quarries. The Polish pioneer hydrogeologist was R. Rosłoński (1880-1956). He organized the Hydrology Department at the Polish Geological Institute (PGI) in 1919. After World War II, the Hydrogeology and Engineering Department was established at the Geological Institute in Warsaw. Dozent F. Rutkowski was the head of the unit for more than 10 years. Professors C. Kolago, J. Malinowski, A. Różkowski and B. Paczyński introduced in practice a number of hydrogeological studies, including hydrogeological cartography, groundwater resource balances, recognition of groundwater resources of well fields and hydrogeological units of Poland, mining hydrogeology, and the principles of groundwater protection in Poland. Hydrogeological data banks were also first introduced at the PGI. The last 20 years of hydrogeology at the PGI were strongly connected with Poland's accession to the European Union and with the implementation of European directives to the water management system in practice. For this reason, the state hydrogeological survey has been established at the PGI.
The phosphogypsum waste dump near Gdańsk was located within the Vistula delta depression on alluvial and lacustrine deposits close to the Dead Vistula River in the early 1970s. More than 16 million tonnes of waste deposits was accumulated until 2009. The loam outcrop of the old brick-yard was used for phosphogypsum. The leachates from the waste deposits causes the migration of contaminants due to density and hydraulic gradients down to the Vistula delta aquifers. The leachate is characterised by low pH, very high concentrations of phosphates and sulphates, metal ions, and radioactive elements. The waste dump was ultimately closed in 2009. The dump ’s surface has been covered with municipal sewage sludge, as the so-called biological reclamation reduces the dustiness of phosphogypsym and the quantity of leachate, but generated additional threat resulting from the chemical compounds of the sludge. The matter from the municipal sewage sludge, dumped on the surface of the phosphogypsum waste heap, contained hormone disruptive compounds (EDCs), nitrogen compounds, viruses, bacteria and other pathogens. The existing groundwater monitoring started in the mid-1970s and was projected and constructed in a very simple way. The observation wells and piezometers have been screened over a short distance at the bottom. Contaminants of different densities, liberated to the aquifers underneath, cannot be properly detected. The new analytical procedures are implemented in chemical laboratories and new methods of monitoring, e.g. low flow sampling, are now in practice. Also the climate changes and sea level rise along the Baltic coast require a new approach and validation of groundwater monitoring in the surroundings of the old waste dumps of chemical and mining industry.
Within the framework of the Poland’s preparation to join the EU, it was necessary to establish new surveys and specialized organizations to cope with tasks to implement the water management policy defined in the Water Framework Directive approved by the European Parliament and Council in 2000. The establishment of the Polish Hydrogeological Survey (PHS) by the Water Act of 18 July 2001 imposed an obligation on the Polish Geological Institute to identify, balance and protect the groundwater as well as to define the principles of the sustainable water management in the river basins. Taking into account the achievements of the Department of Hydrogeology and Engineering Geology, the PGI was well prepared to fulfil the tasks of the PHS in every way: both professional and organizational one. From the mid 1970s the groundwater monitoring has been organized by the Institute as a hydrogeological stationary observation network in Poland. The cartographic projects run by the Institute and the Institute digital data bases with a huge amount of the hydrogeological data collected till 2000 have been very useful to the PHS activity. In subsequent 17 years the PHS has run on annual basis more than 30 permanent tasks as well as more than 10 many years projects essential for the national groundwater management. Until the end of 2017, the PHS activity had been funded by the National Fund for the Environment Protection and Water Management. Currently after the water management reform by the Water Act of 20 July 2017, the PHS is supervised by the competent minister for the water management (The Minister of Marine Economy and Inland Sailing), while funding is now by the National Water Authority Polish Waters.
In parallel with intensified development of the Polish part of Uznam Island, there is an increase in the demand for drinking water in this area. This island ranks among areas with low water resources, which at the present time are allocated. In order to create the prospect of increased groundwater resources, a concept has been developed that allows for the recovery of part of the freshwater from drainage systems which discharge into the waters of Szczecin Lagoon or the River Świna. The present article discusses the secondary use of water from drainage systems for supply of the Wydrzany resource area. The notion of using water from the White Bridge pumping station was considered the most promising. The catchment area of the polder is 880 ha, 280 ha of which are located on Polish territory. The White Bridge pumping station transfers water from the polder, which it leads to the Peat Channel which, in turn, drains water gravitationally into Szczecin Lagoon. Here, results of simulations aimed at the use of drainage water to improve upon groundwater resources in the “Wydrzany” intake are discussed. On the basis of these simulations of artificial water supply to the intake, an increase of available resources by up to 50 per cent may be expected.