Polski
The public’s ever-increasing awareness of the savings and benefits of microretention is fostering favorable subsidy projects. One of these is the nationwide “My Water” program launched in June 2020. by the Ministry of Climate and Environment and the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management. It provides subsidies to owners of single-family homes. Aid of up to 5 thousand. PLN can be spent on the purchase, installation and commissioning of an installation for the collection and use of rainwater and meltwater on the property. By building rainwater retention systems at homes, the program’s organizers want to help mitigate the effects of droughts affecting Poland.
So it’s worth taking advantage of the subsidy offered for a solution with a number of environmental benefits. After all, rainwater can be used, among other things. For watering the garden or for cleaning work. The “My Water” program is expected to run from 2020 to 2024. The contracts are scheduled to be signed by June 30, 2024, and the grant funds are scheduled to be disbursed by the end of that year.
“My Water” Program
Previous editions of the “My Water” program were very popular. Information from the status of the implementation of the “My Water” priority program as of May 24, 2023 shows that during the first edition of the program, nearly 25,000 applications were submitted. applications, and the second edition collected more than 28,500 of them. The total amount of subsidies was more than PLN 115 million the first time and PLN 136 million the second time, respectively. Calls for proposals were conducted until funds were exhausted. No further intake was launched in 2022. This was probably due to the involvement of the National Environmental Protection Fund in procedures from previous actions. A new edition of the program will be launched this year, as already confirmed by a spokesman for the National Environmental Protection and Water Management Fund – the planned start date for the next call for applications under the “My Water” program is the end of the third quarter of this year.
“My Water” recruitment in 2023.
A spokesman for the National Environmental Protection Fund said that work is currently underway to reallocate money from other programs so that this year’s call for “My Water” can be launched. He confirmed that minor modifications to the program are planned for the upcoming edition in the third quarter of this year. However, the amount of the subsidy will not change and is still expected to be 80% of eligible costs (but no more than PLN 5,000). For the planned call, the eligibility period for costs already began in January 2023, but the project must not be completed before the date of submission of the grant application (the date on which the final beneficiary and the project contractor sign the acceptance protocol, or the date on which the final beneficiary signs a statement that the work has been carried out independently), and must not last longer than June 30, 2024.
Reimbursement will be provided for the purchase, supply, installation, construction, expansion and commissioning of equipment:
- For rainwater storage (e.g. sealed underground and aboveground tanks with a total capacity of at least 2m3);
- for collecting rainwater or snowmelt from impervious surfaces, i.e. from roofs, sidewalks, driveways (e.g., catch basins, gutter drains, linear drainage, rainwater pipes without gutters and downpipes);
- for retention of rainwater, including snowmelt in the ground (e.g., unsealing of impervious surfaces, absorption wells, drainage, infiltration boxes, open tanks);
- for retention of rainwater, including snowmelt on roofs – “green roofs” (drainage layer – no cost of plantings);
- for the use of retained rainwater or snowmelt (e.g., pumps, filters, pipes, sprinklers, controllers, distribution centers, other installations that allow the use of water from an existing/newly constructed reservoir).
The purchase and installation of components and adaptation of existing installations that will be a permanent part of the system allowing rainwater or snowmelt to be retained on the property and/or the use of stored water for household and home gardens should be accepted as eligible expenses.
Local support programs – local governments also subsidize rainwater
The positive news is that funding from the “My Water” program can be combined with local support programs organized by local governments. Such aid can be granted only if the total amount of subsidies does not exceed 100% of the investment cost. It is also good news that a beneficiary of previous editions of “My Water” (and therefore no longer able to participate in the program again) can apply for a grant funded by the local government. Details about the call for applications for local programs to support home retention should be sought at local government information desks or city hall websites.
Many cities (including Krakow, Toruń, Gliwice and Wroclaw) have a “Catch the Rain” program, which is a great example of local environmental protection and drought prevention efforts. Its counterpart in the capital is an initiative called “Warsaw Grabs Water.” This year’s call for applications for the “rain catcher” project kicked off on April 3, and two weeks later the pool for residents was exhausted (applications can still be submitted by housing communities and cooperatives, however). In Wroclaw, thanks to grants flowing from the program, more than 360 above-ground gutter tanks, 163 underground tanks, 21 rain gardens, 15 wells and absorption troughs and a green roof have been implemented.
If you want to learn more about rainwater management read: rainwater – changing the thinking about rainwater.
