Poles ignore this ban. They must expect severe punishment
Despite the ban, many people still discharge rainwater into the sewage system. Some local governments have launched inspections that may result in quite severe penalties.
Pursuant to the Act on collective water supply and sewage disposal, it is prohibited to discharge rainwater into the sewage system. Despite this ban, municipalities warn that the scale of this phenomenon is growing.
Experts explain that the sanitary sewage system is not adapted to collect large amounts of rainwater. It has smaller pipe diameters than storm sewage, so the system may be overloaded during heavy rainfall. As a result, we are dealing with flooding, infrastructure failures and damage to equipment. It should also be remembered that the additional load on the sanitary sewage system directly affects the price of sanitary sewage collection for all recipients.
Even 10 thousand PLN fine
In response to the growing scale of the problem, many local governments initiated massive inspections. As Forsal.pl writes, the way to detect illegal connections is the so-called smoke test, which was recently used by the Municipal Engineering Company in Pszczyna. Specialists inject smoke into the sewage well and then observe whether it escapes through home gutters, drainage grates or other elements of the installation. If this happens, it means that the rainwater drainage system is connected illegally to the sanitary sewage system.
In such a situation, the property owner receives a letter in which he or she is requested to permanently cut off the illegal stormwater discharge. Then, he will have to manage rainwater in a different way, e.g. through drainage, a water tank for watering the garden, or introducing it into the storm sewer system. This is a milder punishment. In the event of persistent violation of regulations, fines for discharging rainwater into sanitary sewage systems may reach up to PLN 10,000. zloty.
