Water resource management

The Połaniec Power Plant withdraws water from the Vistula River for cooling and firefighting, to supplement water in the closed hydraulic ash handling system, and for the purposes of the flue gas desulphurisation system. Water withdrawn from the Wschodnia River is used for the production of demineralised water to supplement the circulating water in the power unit water and steam systems. The power plant has an open cooling system – it withdraws water directly from the Vistula River. As the water passes through the turbine condensers, it cools the turbine exhaust steam and becomes warmer. With this technology the water level in the river remains intact. The cooling system is a sealed system, which means that no contaminated water or wastewater enters the circuit. The discharge of cooling water into the Vistula River does not cause adverse changes to the river’s ecosystem, as confirmed by expert opinions from the Institute of Power Engineering. The power plant submits reports with quantitative and qualitative data on the withdrawn water and discharged wastewater to the relevant entities, including the State Water Holding Polish Waters and the Provincial Inspectorate of Environmental Protection.

Enea Wytwarzanie withdraws water from the Vistula River which is used as a coolant for the condensation of circulating water from the water and steam systems of the power units. After demineralisation, water from the Vistula River is also used in the water and steam systems of the power units. For power units 1-10, water from the Vistula River withdrawn for cooling purposes is used in an open loop. For power unit 11, water is used to supplement losses due to evaporation of the cooling water in the closed loop.

Łęczyńska Energetyka operates deep-water intakes in the Bogdanka, Stefanów and Nadrybie fields. At the Bogdanka Field, a water treatment plant is operated, producing drinking and process water.

ENEA Ciepło – Head Office, the Zachód Heat Plant withdraws underground water from its own deep-water intakes and uses it in the water treatment plant, for cooling the heat plant equipment and for slag quenching. Water is drawn from the municipal water supply system and used for domestic purposes, fire-fighting and technological purposes of the flue gas desulphurisation plant (pump cooling). The Zachód Heat Plant uses a closed water circuit with water taken from deep wells and used for technological purposes. Water from the closed-loop cooling circuit is collected in a transition tank and then returned to the raw water retention tanks.