The future of the My Water program. Will it continue in 2025?

Launched in 2020, the My Water priority program has enabled micro-retention projects for more than 70,000 residential building owners. Due to the immense popularity of the initiative, we asked the National Environmental Protection and Water Management Fund about the chances of launching further editions. The answer, unfortunately, does not fill us with optimism.

Four years of the My Water program

In August 2024, our editorial office received data from the National Environmental Protection and Water Management Fund on the implementation of the My Water program to date. Out of almost 95,000 applications submitted, funding of 80 percent of eligible costs (up to PLN 6,000) was granted to more than 76,000 beneficiaries, and the total support amounted to PLN 387.7 million. According to the position of the Fund’s representatives at the time, not all of the planned investments were carried out, and the amounts of unused allocations were to feed the IV call in 2025.

So in February we asked again about plans to support micro-retention projects. The National Environmental Protection and Water Management Fund responded that there are currently no plans to launch further editions of the My Water program . What instead?

Why is microretention so important?

The decision not to renew the Moja Woda program is all the more egregious because Poland has suffered a severe drought every summer for more than a decade. According to the National Hydrogeological Service, in many regions the groundwater table drops below the low warning level (SNO) during the summer months. Every year, some municipalities issue bans on watering gardens due to low water reserves. In 2024. IMGW-PIB also reported record drops in the state of many Polish rivers, including the Vistula, with low states registered at more than 70 percent of the country’s hydrological stations.

There is no doubt that the drought in Poland will continue and probably intensify. Microretention, i.e. collecting rainwater to improve the local water balance, is considered one of the most important directions to counteract the shortage. Rainwater collected by households can be used for watering the garden and lawn, but also for domestic and household purposes.

Benefits associated with microretention development include:

• Increasing the supply of domestic water during periods of drought;
• Saving groundwater resources;
• relieving pressure on the stormwater drainage system, thereby reducing the risk of flooding;
• Financial savings from reduced water intake from waterworks;
• Support for local biodiversity.

Where can you get support? Municipalities take up the baton

Does the end of the Moja Woda program mean a halt to the development of micro-retention in Poland? Fortunately, for several years now, support for property owners willing to invest in local water storage systems has been offered by numerous Polish municipalities. Responsibility for the hydrological situation is thus shifting, to a certain extent, to the local government level, where the threat of drought and the need for rational management of water resources are evident.

In 2025, the following funding programs, among others, await those interested in implementing micro-retention projects:

• Barcin is providing targeted grants for the purchase and installation of a retention tank for collecting rainwater – the call is being conducted from April 15 to May 31, and the subsidy is up to 60 percent of the actual costs incurred, but no more than PLN 1,500.
• Goleszów is once again offering grants for the installation of above-ground retention tanks for rainwater from roofs – the application deadline is March 31, and reimbursement is up to 100 percent of eligible costs, with a maximum of PLN 500.
• Gostyn is subsidizing the purchase and installation of a tank for the retention and use of rainwater and snowmelt – the call runs from February 3, 2025 to September 30, and the subsidy is up to 100 percent of eligible costs, with a maximum of PLN 1,500.
• Lubliniec is organizing a call for applications for subsidies for projects to collect rainwater and snowmelt on site (the so-called Lubliniec barrel) – the amount of the subsidy is up to 50% of eligible costs, but no more than PLN 4,000, and applications can be submitted until March 31.
• In Sopot, the city government accepts year-round applications for subsidies for projects to collect and use rainwater and snowmelt – the subsidy covers up to 80 percent of the cost of the investment, with a limit of PLN 4,000 for single-family buildings and PLN 10,000. PLN. for others.
• The City of Warsaw is offering subsidies for the construction of facilities for the retention and use of rainwater and snowmelt on site – applications can be submitted until March 31, and the level of subsidy reaches 80 percent of the actual cost of the investment (a maximum of PLN 4,000 for individuals).

Programs to support the development of microretentions are also regularly organized by the cities of Łódź, Rzeszów, Kraków, Lublin, Karpacz, Żary and the local government of the Wielkopolska Voivodeship, among others – those interested are encouraged to contact the offices directly.

Unfortunately, in many other municipalities the only source of funding for investments involving rainwater harvesting was the My Water program. It is difficult to say how the situation will develop further. Taking into account the controversy over the implementation of the Clean Air program by the National Environmental Protection and Water Management Fund, decentralization of funding for pro-environmental initiatives could be a desirable direction.

What projects are being implemented under the microretention program?

Owners of single-family homes and other buildings who plan to invest in rainwater and snowmelt collection and use systems have a range of potential designs to choose from. The most popular ones include:

• Buying and installing above-ground rainwater tanks of sufficiently large capacity;
• Purchase and installation of underground tanks;
• Implementation of ponds and absorption wells;
• installation for collecting rainwater and snowmelt from the roof and other surfaces;
• Establishing rain gardens in the ground or in a container;
• The implementation of so-called green roofs;
• Buying pumps, filters, hoses and sprinklers to use the stored water on site;
• installation of an infiltration system.

The choice of the optimal solution depends on a number of parameters, including the size of the available area, the permeability of the soil on the property, the slope of the land, the proximity of utilities and technical equipment, the area of the roof, the use of the land and, of course, the budget.

It is worth mentioning that different subsidy programs provide for a different range of investments possible under the grant. Thus, not all forms of micro-retention are covered by support everywhere. The level and limit of subsidies also varies – in terms of financing, the Moja Woda program was undoubtedly one of the most favorable in Poland, offering up to 6 thousand. PLN.