Nieciecz (2019 - 2020)
Sometimes Ciecz (liquid, water), sometimes Nieciecz* (non-liquid, non water). For the last decade of so - Nieciecz. Thirty kilometers long. Its springs are told to be located near Rychłowiec village. It is hard to say; its original streamed has entirely vanished. Today, it is a mere trace on the map. The water turned into non-water because a few dozens kilometers away somebody decided to dig a huge pitch in the ground and extract a coal from it.
Poland is dependent on coal. 80% of our electricity comes from coal-fueled power plants that use huge amounts of water to maintain their activity. The coal-related industries devour as much as 70% of the whole water intake in the country. This is the highest rate in the world. The mining and power complex KWB Belchatow constitutes the largest opencast mine in Poland and one of the biggest in Europe. Lignite coal is mined there, and the electricity is produced on its basis. The coal from Belchatow is the cheapest fuel in the country, and the energy produced from it covers 20% of the entire country’s demand.
To quarry the raw material, first, it is necessary to drain the whole area of the mine - damp lignite is useless. Massive-scale dewatering results in the emergence of a large depression cone around mining site. The surface of the cone in the region is estimated to cover about 1000 square kilometers. All the rivers, streams, rivulets, lakes, lakelets, pools, ponds, and wells in the region are simply drying or they have already dried up.
As the non-water Nieciecz. The Nieciecz River.
* Nieciecz is the name of one of the rivers in Poland. Literary it means „non-liquid, non-water”. The author plays with the word, addressing the process of drying up and destruction of the river by human activity.
© Copyright Michal Dyjuk 2024