 Problems associated with wastewater 
Untreated or insufficiently cleaned wastewater is a danger for water resources and a risk for human health. Streams, rivers, lakes, coastal waters and groundwater are polluted. It affects human health by worsening quality of drinking water and recreation sites, exposing people to pathogens which cause disease. Environmental problems from polluted water can cause damage for whole ecosystems as well as individual plant and animal species. In Poland, wastewater treatment is a very serious problem. According to statistical data, only 53,1% of the population is serviced by wastewater treatment plants. On one hand, water is supplied to 91,5% of population in cities and 30% of population in rural areas. On the other hand, only 83% and 9,9% of these populations respectively is serviced by wastewater treatment plants. The worst situation is in the rural, sparsely built-up areas. Small, isolated communities have difficulties in building and maintaining highly technical wastewater treatment systems. Very often, traditional treatment plants are not maintained because of financial problems or the treatment plants are not operated professionally. As a consequence, wastewater remains untreated or is cleaned insufficiently. These problems become especially important in areas with important natural resources such as conservation areas, national parks and Biosphere Reserves, such as the south-eastern part of Poland. The main problems of water management in this region are:
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