Water supply in rural areas
231
Although agriculture consumes large amounts of water for crop production, it is mostly precipitation water or groundwater mainly from unsaturated layer. Evapotranspiration plays an important role in the water cycle, but for obvious reasons is not included in the recorded water consumption by agriculture. Evapotranspiration is a term used to describe the sum of transport of water into the atmosphere from surfaces, including soil (soil evaporation), and from vegetation (transpiration). Transpiration accounts for the movement of water within a plant and the subsequent loss of water as vapor through stomata in its leaves. However, the records of water consumption by agriculture include water consumed for field crops irrigation with the use of sprinkling machines, and water supplied to fish ponds (Table 6.2). But these quantities are very small due to the reduction of irrigated land area. Table 6.2 Water withdrawal for irrigation in agriculture and forestry, as well as water for filling up fish ponds (source: GUS, 2010a) Year
Irrigated land [thous. ha of agricultural land]
Water withdrawal for irrigation [km3]
Water withdrawal for fish ponds [km3]
1990
301.5
51.9 (5.3)
122.8
2000
99.1
11.3 (0.2)
95.0
2009
78.7
9.6 (0.16)
106.3
The recorded amount of water consumed by agriculture refers to drinking water for humans and farm animals, and to water used for hygiene in residential buildings and farming premises. It should be emphasized here that only water from water supply systems is registered, and not the water from farm wells. The statistical data (GUS, 2011b,c) show that most tap water (about 82 km3, i.e. 68%) is consumed in cities, and significantly less (37.8 km3, i.e. 32%) in rural areas inhabited by 39% of total population of our country. In Poland, water consumption per capita in the 1990s was on the level of 310 m3 · yr-1, but the volume varied in urban and rural areas. It reached approx. 368 m3 · yr-1 in urban and ca. 247 m3 · yr-1 in rural areas. It is worth emphasizing that the average water consumption per 1 inhabitant in Western Europe amounts to approx. 700 m3 · yr-1, therefore it is more than two times higher than the average consumption in Poland. This difference is mainly due to the large share of rural population in Poland, and smaller consumption of water by individual farms. As mentioned earlier, farms get potable water and water for hygienic purposes partly from their own wells, mostly dug wells, and partly from water-pipe networks. In recent years, there has been a very significant expansion of water supply network in rural areas. At the end of 2010 the length of distribution pipe network (without connections to the buildings) in these areas was approximately 212,000 km, and in all voivodeships the increase in distribution pipe network’s length was recorded; in some of them the increase reached 30% over the time period 2003-2010 (GUS,