Why Advertise Water?

Istotne.pl: – Mr President, why advertise tap water?

Józef Król: – Bolesławiec’s water should be promoted for several reasons: it is our great treasure, it is our duty to reach people with this information, tap water has the qualities of bottled spring water, so we can save money by drinking tap water.

Bolesławiec is fortunate to be a place where such wonderful water is available. Since the Middle Ages, the water has been regarded as miraculous and valued for its taste and health benefits. For many years, this water was not appreciated. People deserve to know that good tap water is cheaper than bottled water. They can calculate it themselves: 1 m³ of water is almost 700 bottles of water from a shop. If someone does not want to take our word for it, we can rely on an authority of the highest calibre – the excellent assessment of Bolesławiec’s water by Professor Iwona Wawer of the Medical Academy in Warsaw.

I am pleased to meet people who tell me that they already drink tap water instead of buying it in bottles. When residents believe in this wonderful legend of the living spring and consider Bolesławiec’s water beneficial to their health, I hope they will drink even more of it.

PWiK has invested heavily to ensure the highest quality of water supply. The investments were substantial. Which were the most difficult, and were you afraid that something might go wrong?

Fortunately, I do not have such fears because I am optimistic both in business and in life. When I take something on, I plan it in detail. Our water is a treasure, and this treasure must reach residents in the best possible form. Water must be extracted and treated as well and as cheaply as possible. Our first investment went in this direction: the water treatment plant in Rakowice, where we have excellent water and a siphon intake, so we do not have to pump it. It is inexpensive and today is the most modern intake in Lower Silesia. Thanks to this investment, the water is cheap, good and healthy. I can confidently say that we have peace of mind regarding our water resources for 50 years. Mayor Piotr Roman can attract investors to us; an abundant supply of cheap water is an advantage. We can sell it; these are renewable, inexhaustible reserves. It is also clear that the more we sell, the cheaper the water will be.

This investment represents a major qualitative change. From the perspective of a quarter-century of local government, what has changed most in Bolesławiec?

Just as in our personal lives we may be more or less fortunate, we can look at a city in the same way. Some cities are lucky, while others are not necessarily so. From the perspective of 25 years, I can confidently say that Bolesławiec was fortunate because an engineer with 13 years of experience became mayor and understood fundamental matters. A quarter of a century ago, our city had no wastewater treatment plant and no waste disposal site. We faced enormous fines for discharging wastewater into the river. The disposal site was located in a gravel pit. It was a disastrous situation, and environmental regulations were beginning to take effect. Bolesławiec found itself on the list of polluters.

It turned out that our small local government was efficient enough that in 1998 we had both a modern wastewater treatment plant for its time and the most modern waste disposal site. It is also fortunate that the city has been managed with wise continuity by the mayor. Many things were achieved then: we had the time and opportunity to renovate the town hall. Later, as it turned out, the renovated Market Square made the greatest impression on representatives of the companies we brought to the city, Bader and Zehnder. I was criticised for its renovation, but the investment was the right choice. We were building the image of a city that is still becoming more beautiful under the current authorities. This continuity may not be noticed, but it is the most important thing. There are cities that have neither managed to overcome divisions nor been fortunate enough to have good stewards. In Szklarska Poręba, councillors focused on internal disputes and failed to use the city’s enormous potential. Today, in Bolesławiec, the price per m³ for water supply and wastewater disposal is below PLN 10; in Szklarska Poręba it is PLN 28.

From your perspective, what most hinders change, and what supports it?

There are many factors. The legal framework is important; it often has an enormous impact, and I look with concern at the government’s plans to reform local government. Local governments were created so that people would have the ability and opportunity to govern themselves.

There is also the human side of things. We have certain tendencies: we like to argue and complain, and this is not necessarily constructive. That is why leaders who can unite rather than divide should always be valued. Leaders who can build, because each of us has positive potential.

What supports you most?

First, when I decide to carry out a responsible task, I am supported by the need to achieve the intended result. That is what drives me and gives me strength. People will always complain. I remember the roads built during my term of office in the Kwiatowe housing estate. I was shocked that people criticised them. I thought that when people saw the new roads, they would be happy, but they pointed out differences of just a few centimetres in the level of driveways to properties. It was only after a year or two that they became satisfied.

People often say, “This place needs a good steward.” What does a good steward mean in local government and in a company?

That is true: everywhere needs a good steward, a good woman steward. Such a person should be responsible, hard-working and conscientious, but also open, creative and honest. A good steward must look ahead. Especially when managing assets as substantial as those of PWiK. I have to consider a 30–50-year perspective in order to supply the city with water. I will no longer be here, but what I do now will continue to function.

This forward-looking perspective and reflection on the past were connected with the celebrations held this year to mark five centuries of good water in Bolesławiec…

Yes, it was an initiative that – as time confirmed – was worthwhile: it allowed us to see how much good work had been done and where we, as a modern company, stand as its successors. Five centuries ago, there were good stewards in these areas, noticed and praised throughout Europe at the time. Today, we are no worse than they were; we manage things just as well.

At the congress of the Polish Waterworks Chamber of Commerce in Warsaw, its president Tadeusz Rzepecki held our company up as an example of wise consolidation; he was referring to the takeover of Lwówek. Could we have a better recommendation? In a subsequent statement, former president of the Chamber of Commerce Roman Wiertelak, now head of the water utility in Kalisz, praised our conference held in Bolesławiec in September. He remembered its wise management and was delighted by the children’s drawings prepared for the occasion. He described in detail the drawing by Daria Chłopicka, which won the competition. The president was delighted by how beautifully the winner depicted the future of waterworks: in the future, water may be so clean that we will drink it from the river by the glass. These are valuable words of praise. We are a provincial company, yet our solutions and ideas are appreciated and we are held up as an example. I am pleased about that; it would be good if the employees were pleased too. And it would be good if the residents knew about it.