20. Current Issues and Research Needs for Contaminated Land and Drinking Water Resources Management in Poland

The paper presents latest developments for the last 20 years, starting from the 1990s of the twentieth century in management of soil and water resources in Poland with analysis of the needs for further improvements in technological innovations and improvements in management practice. Needs for further improvements concern better administrative procedures, systemic identification of soil and water problems e.g. sites, risk based management and orientation on sustainability in environmental protection, remediation and revitalisation of contaminated sites. Improvements in administrative practices should be based on the experiences gathered so far and good examples from other countries. There is a need for better protection and remediation technologies in terms of their cost-effectiveness and sustainability including application of in-situ techniques in soil and groundwater remediation. Environmental management can also be improved by the development and application of soft tools for problem identification, management and control. Technologies tackling diffuse contamination are also important. Future research topics should concern protecting and enhancing jointly soil functions and water protection especially on built-in areas in accordance with Framework Water Directive and the proposed Soil Framework Directive (COM(2006) 232) framework.