Water barrage in Siarzewo in doubt. Court dismisses appeal by Polish Waters

The Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw has dismissed the appeal filed by the State Water Holding Polish Waters against the decision of the General Director for Environmental Protection regarding the construction of a water barrage in Siarzewo on the Vistula River. This means that the 2024 refusal by the General Directorate for Environmental Protection (GDOŚ) to issue environmental approval for the project remains in force, and the investment cannot proceed.

Water barrage in Siarzewo: project assumptions

The first concepts for building a water barrage near Siarzewo emerged in the 1960s as part of the Lower Vistula Cascade project. The contemporary investment plan envisages the construction of a dam, a navigation lock and an 80 MW hydropower plant at the 708th kilometre of the Vistula River, on the section between Toruń and Włocławek.

The new barrage was included in the Lower Vistula Development multiannual programme adopted by the Council of Ministers in 2023. It was intended to become part of a waterway connecting the Baltic Sea with the Black Sea. Polish Waters also argued that the investment would provide flood protection for approximately 100,000 residents and would positively affect water retention in the region, as well as the economic and tourism development of areas along the Vistula. Annual production of renewable electricity was estimated at 350 GWh.

Investment without environmental approval

In 2017, the Regional Director for Environmental Protection in Bydgoszcz issued a positive environmental decision for the Siarzewo water barrage project. Environmental non-governmental organisations, some of which are members of the Save the Rivers Coalition, opposed the decision. Appeals were filed, arguing that the project would have a negative impact on the Vistula ecosystem.

After reviewing the case, the General Director for Environmental Protection overturned the Bydgoszcz decision in 2024 and refused to issue environmental approval for the project. The justification pointed to numerous shortcomings on the part of the investor, including a lack of reliable assessment of alternative solutions and insufficient compensatory measures. It was also concluded that the project would have a destructive impact on nature, threatening three Natura 2000 sites. Other concerns included forecasts of adverse effects on priority species, the hydrology of the Vistula River and the quality of surface waters.

In response, Polish Waters filed an appeal against the GDOŚ decision with the Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw.

Court upholds GDOŚ decision, but the case is not over

On 19 June this year, the Provincial Administrative Court dismissed the appeal filed by Polish Waters. Representatives of WWF Poland described the ruling as an important step in the long-standing effort to protect the Vistula River and its invaluable ecosystems. However, the investor still has the right to file a cassation appeal with the Supreme Administrative Court. Other organisations within the Save the Rivers Coalition, as well as representatives of the We Are Connected by the Vistula conference, also welcomed the ruling.

Further efforts to advance the Siarzewo water barrage project have already been announced by Member of Parliament Anna Gembicka, who argues that the investment process may proceed under a special law prepared by the Law and Justice party (PiS). “We will not let this matter go. Siarzewo must be built,” Gembicka wrote on her Facebook profile.