Within recent years, hormones have become emergent contaminants in the water environment. They easily accumulate in living organisms which in effect leads to numerous health problems (endocrine-disrupting mechanism is one of the most known toxic effects). Microbial resistance to antibiotics also became one of the emergent issues related to hormone presence. It was shown that the most common in the environment occur estrogens (E1, E2, E3, and EE2). It has been proven that large amounts of hormones are released from aquaculture as well as from wastewater treatment plants (due to the relatively low separation efficiency of conventional wastewater treatment processes). Within the article’s scope, the literature review was performed. The analysis was regarding the characterization of the hormone substances present in the environment, their influence on living organisms and the environment, as well as its potential sources classification.

Modeling the reliability of storm water drainage systems encounters a number of methodological difficulties, especially in the selection of a reliable rainfall scenario. Many methods for creating reference hyetographs are described in the literature. The aim of the work was the analysis of the shapes of local precipitation hyetographs and the verification of the reference shapes of rainfall hyetographs used for the drainage systems designing and modeling its operation in Poland (Euler type II and DVWK models). The research material was represented by historical records of rainfall data from the measuring station located in Jelenia Góra (Poland). Rainfall were grouped due to the similarity of physical features, using various methodologies: Huff, cluster analysis using the Ward and k-means methods. The k-means method proved to be especially useful for selecting precipitation in terms of shape hyetographs. The statistical analysis of the similarity of the rainfall hyetograph shapes was performed within the separated genetic clusters, based on the parameters of mass distributions and unevenness over time. The comparative analysis allowed for the positive verification of the Euler type II and DVWK models for the tested station.

Water scarcity and climate change led to changes in water management, especially in urban areas. RainWater Harvesting (RWH) is a promising technique that allows the collection and reuse of rainwater, as well as protecting sewage systems from overload. This article reviews the current state of RWH in Europe, including advantages, implementation, potential efficiency, usage requirements, quality, and treatment processes. The main findings include the importance of RWH as a sustainable water management technique, the historical background and renewed interest in RWH systems in recent years, the positive impact of RWH on reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, the versatility of rainwater usage, and the potential cost savings and benefits in various regions. RWH systems are gaining popularity in Europe, particularly in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Climate change and precipitation patterns affect rainwater availability and quality. RWH can be used for various purposes, including drinking, but requires proper purification for health safety. It is also being implemented in new locations like airports and large buildings. RWH systems have a high potential to overcome undesired results of climate change. Among that, numerous aspects still need to be considered in the future that allow the application of RWH systems on a larger scale.

Progressing climate change significantly affects the quality of life in cities. The related changes in the rainfall structure lead to an increased frequency of extreme hydrological phenomena such as droughts and floods. The increasing intensity of rainfall is a particular threat to urbanised areas, where due to the high degree of area sealing, an increase in runoff volumes and peak flow rate is observed. Storm water drainage systems are often not adapted to accommodate increased rainwater flows, which leads to the so-called urban floods. On the other hand, prolonged periods without precipitation may, in turn, lead to periodic water shortages. Cities must implement a climate change adaptation strategy. One of the solutions for rational rainwater management is the implementation of Blue-Green Infrastructure. These facilities are a modern solution supporting the sewage networks operation, water retention, and improving the quality of life in cities. The article presents the literature review on the current state of knowledge about Blue-Green Infrastructure and the implementation stage of these solutions in the world. Solutions that are newly introduced, not necessarily newly invented, in many places around the world are described. The literature review was limited to the period 2018–2023 to indicate the most modern and up-to-date strategies.

With ongoing climate change, new threats appear to the operation of water supply systems (WSSs), which are related to the amount of available drinking water resources, its quality, the operation of existing water supply infrastructure and changes in consumer behavior. The paper presents a bibliometric analysis of the state of knowledge on the impact of climate change on the failure of water supply infrastructure. The bibliometric analysis was performed based on the VOSviewer program. The results of the analysis indicate current research trends in this area around the world and allow the identification of strengths and weaknesses. Most research concerns the identification of factors related to the impact of climate on the failure rate of water distribution systems. A popular research topic was also the prediction of water supply network failures, taking into account the impact of climatic factors. The main research gap is determining the impact of climate change on water quality. The acquired knowledge can be used by water companies, policy-makers and other researchers to plan adaptation strategies to climate change, which pose new challenges for the operation of water supply systems. The conducted bibliometric analysis also allowed for identifying research gaps.

In water management, climate changes require adaptation, protection of existing resources and the search for alternative water sources. Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is increasingly becoming an alternative water source, applicable for many directions of its use. The aim of the research was to analyse the influence of long-term climate change on the potential for rainwater harvesting in households in Central Europe in Poland. The analysis of long-term climate changes impact on the household rainwater harvesting potential was conducted for the 50-year period for 19 cities in Poland. The water balance model was operated in a day-step mode, and the research was carried out in four “time scales approach”. For the purpose of all analyses, a standard weekly water demand profile was developed. It includes the daily sub-profiles for every working day and weekend, covering the washing and toilet flushing needs for a 4-person household. In order to evaluate the long-term changes in residential harvesting in Poland, a hypothetical residential RWH was investigated in 19 locations and rainfall conditions. To illustrate the time-spatial variation of annual rainfall amounts in the analyzed period, the heat map was prepared as the pre-simulation stage. Results show that the design of RWH systems should be based on archival data and take into account the many years of rainfall changes. This will improve performance and secure benefits for the users of this system.