Good Waters Status as One of Quality Factors of Life in Small Communes

Enabling citizens to live in more sustainable cities that guarantee well-being and comfortable living conditions is a significant challenge of the 21st century. Factors affecting urban health have components relative to health issues, social, economic and environmental aspects. One of the factors in the last group is access to water with appropriate quality parameters. This is particularly important in small communes that are located in the area of karst aquifers which can be problematic because of unstable discharge regimes and high vulnerability to pollution. Research conducted for waters in the Halszka spring (Niegowa commune, southern Poland) indicate that the quality of these waters is very good, and the only health hazard can be the alkalinity (about 250 mgCaCO3/l). Since there are many users of such water, it should be subject to constant quality monitoring and resource protection.