Water supply and sewerage infrastructure in the Krakow Metropolitan Area over the period 2003-2013

Water supply and sewerage infrastructure, which characterizes a particular territorial unit, is one of the key elements of its economic development. The sustainability index of water and sewage management system of the specific area, for which the total lengths of both water supply system and sewerage system are similar as it can be clearly seen, looking at the urban units of the Krakow Metropolitan Area, is absolutely vital. The apparent disparity between the lengths of both the water supply system and sewage system in the urban-rural and rural communes with a particularly significant shortage of sewerage infrastructure was shown. This proves the unsustainability of water and sewage management system in the area. A significant improvement in the condition of infrastructure in the analysed decade should be noted. This is clearly linked with the main objective of the Water Framework Directive and the subsequent participation of the analyzed area of KMA in the EU funds and other aid programs which aim at achieving a good level of water by 2015.