Lakes in Poland's Gniezno Lake District are rapidly drying up

Lakes in the Gniezno Lake District, once known as the ‘Little Masuria’ of Poland, are rapidly disappearing or drying up. In some areas of the Powidzkie Landscape Park, water levels have dropped by more than eight meters compared to several decades ago, with shorelines receding by as much as 400 meters.

Specific bodies of water, such as Lake Skrzynka, have already dried up, and the Ostrowo-Gopło canal has ceased to function. Local observers warn that Lake Czyste and Lake Wójcińskie are also at high risk of drying out in the coming years.

Experts attribute this systemic water crisis to over 70 years of intensive brown coal mining in the region. For decades, millions of cubic meters of water were pumped from open-pit mines, altering regional hydrological conditions and causing groundwater to flow toward mines rather than replenishing the lakes.