The turn of the year is an occasion for most of us to take stock. We make an examination of conscience in the area that concerns us most. I, in addition to other, more personal accounts, decided to check out what is splashing in the waters in connection with this year’s 20th anniversary of Poland’s entry into the European Union structure and the adoption of the Water Framework Directive regulations. The fundamental premise of the directive was to shape the water policies of member countries in such a way as to halt the degradation of waters and ensure the maintenance or restoration of their proper status within a certain time horizon. How has Europe dealt with this challenge? Unfortunately, on average.