Last Saturday (18 June), readers reported problems with the water supply in Gmina Warta Bolesławiecka. The reported problems concerned the quality and availability of water from the water supply network in two localities within the gmina.

The first report concerned dirty water from the water supply network in Warta Bolesławiecka itself. A reader wrote:

This is the water coming from the network in Warta Bolesławiecka. The filters practically need replacing every day.

The reader attached photos of the dirty water filter and added:

We drink this water, after all.

The second report concerned Raciborowice. The reader wrote:

In Raciborowice, for the past three days, there has been no water in the taps in the evenings from around 6:00 or 7:00 p.m., either to take a bath or for personal use. You have to wait until late at night or until the next morning. People have started watering their gardens, there is no pressure—why is MZGK not doing anything about it?

We asked Gmina Warta Bolesławiecka for comment on the matter. Radosław Palczewski, President of the Management Board of Zakład Komunalny w Lubkowie Sp. z o.o., which supplies water to localities in Gmina Warta Bolesławiecka, responded:

(...) The contamination mentioned by the portal's reader most often consists of small sediment particles that appear during a sudden increase in water pressure. This situation can occur, for example, during the illegal drawing of water from a hydrant or when water pressure returns after a failure. During pressure changes associated with a sudden or substantial draw of water, such sediment breaks away from the walls of the water supply pipes, contaminating the water. The water may contain particles that are usually rusty-red or brown, or it may change color completely. This situation particularly affects consumers located near the site of the theft or failure and at the end sections of the water supply network. (...) We cannot comment on the attached photos of the water filter because we do not know which locality they concern or the period from which the collected sediment originates. However, we appeal to the person concerned: if this contamination recurs, please contact us so that we can diagnose the problem.

Radosław Palczewski, President of the Management Board of Zakład Komunalny w Lubkowie Sp. z o.o.

Vogt of Gmina Warta Bolesławiecka, Mirosław Haniszewski:

(...) According to the preliminary information I received from the company's President, the drop in pressure and increased water turbidity are connected with high water consumption on hot days for watering gardens, as well as water being drawn from fire hydrants by unauthorized individuals—which, I remind you, constitutes theft. Each activation of a hydrant and intensive water withdrawal causes sudden pressure drops in the water supply networks and changes in water quality. Drawing water from hydrants causes sediment accumulated in the water supply network to break loose; this sediment consists naturally of precipitated iron and manganese compounds. The disturbed sediment contaminates the water supplied to consumers. For years, we have been taking steps to identify those responsible for unauthorized water withdrawal from hydrants, but without residents' support or reports, detecting it is essentially impossible.

What do you think about this matter?