What’s next for the My Water program? – we have information from the National Environmental Protection and Water Management Fund

The third edition of the My Water micro-retention project grant program has already ended. We asked the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management for comment on the course and results of this program. The initiative was extremely popular, which opens hopes for the future. Will more beneficiaries be able to count on support and when?

My Water – a small summary of the principles of the program

The program was launched in July 2020. It covered the whole of Poland, and the Provincial Funds for Environmental Protection and Water Management (WFOŚiGW) are responsible for its implementation. The beneficiaries of the program are individuals who own single-family residential buildings, including those just being built. What support could one count on?

Eligible costs included the purchase, installation, construction and commissioning of the plant:

• for collecting rainwater, including snowmelt, from roofs, sidewalks, driveways, etc;
• For retention of rainwater in underground and above-ground reservoirs and ponds;
• for retention of rainwater in the ground, such as in the form of drainage, absorption wells or rain gardens;
• For rainwater retention on roofs in the form of so-called “green roofs. green roofs;
• for the use of rainwater (including pumps, sprinklers, pipes, and others).

The My Water program provided for support of up to 80 percent. of eligible costs, but no more than 6,000. PLN. per project.

The 3rd edition of the program is over – summary of NFOŚiGW

During the four years of the program’s operation, during which three calls for proposals were conducted, a total of 94,828 applications for funding were submitted, the National Environmental Protection and Water Management Fund told our editorial board. By July of this year, agreements had been signed with 76,280 beneficiaries for a total amount of PLN 387,754,255. To date, 38,737 agreements for a total of PLN 184,595,520 have been settled. Further settlements conducted by the National Environmental Protection and Water Management Fund are planned by the end of the current calendar year.

The National Environmental Protection and Water Management Fund also adds that the value of tasks requested by beneficiaries under the My Water program until February 29, 2024, has exhausted the program’s planned amount – so the call for applications has officially ended.

What will be the future of the My Water program?

According to information provided to us by the National Environmental Protection and Water Management Fund, not all the investments described in the applications have been or are being implemented. Once the settlements are completed and the beneficiaries are paid, it will be possible to estimate the unused amount of allocation from calls I, II and III. The earliest we will know this amount is early 2025.

The National Environmental Protection and Water Management Fund promises that unused funds will be the basis for announcing the next, the 4th call for applications next year. According to the rules of the program, owners of properties that have already received funding under previous calls will not be able to take advantage of it. The final provisions of the program in call IV will be influenced by the evaluation of previous calls,” adds a spokesman for the National Environmental Protection and Water Management Fund.

Why is the My Water program so important?

The My Water Program is an important step towards climate change adaptation. It aims to mitigate drought and prevent flooding. Both scenarios – a deepening hydrogeologic low and sudden flooding – are increasingly real as average temperatures rise and storm rains become more frequent and intense.

Microretention, or the management of rainwater directly at the point of precipitation, plays a very important role in Poland’s overall water balance. While large and small retention is the responsibility of national and local governments, local rainwater collection and responsible management is the responsibility of individual property owners. The My Water program provides a tangible incentive to invest in private infrastructure of public importance.

According to Piotr Kowalczak of the Institute of Agricultural and Forestry Environment of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Poznań , water from precipitation should be treated as a valuable resource that should be used as close as possible to where it falls. Especially in urban areas, where most of the surface is sealed, water shortages in the summer are very noticeable, as can be seen from the vegetation in parks and squares. Meanwhile, the rational management of rainwater not only mitigates the effects of periodic drought in municipalities and regions, but can reduce the consumption of precious drinking water and improve the comfort of life for homeowners.