Small-Scale Water Retention, Big Benefits: Funding Applications Now Open
Nearly PLN 60 million will be allocated to residents, local authorities and organisations for projects designed to increase water retention across our region. The funding comes from a new initiative launched by the Marshal’s Office in response to the challenges posed by drought and climate change. Grants covering 100% of eligible costs will support the construction of new water reservoirs and ponds. The call for applications opens on 16 October.
“Changes in the natural environment are phenomena that we usually observe over decades. Today, however, scientists point out that processes that once occurred naturally over very long periods are now progressing much faster as a result of human activity. We must therefore take action on two fronts: both to prevent further changes and to address the consequences of those we are already experiencing,” said Marshal Piotr Całbecki. “I am confident that our project will attract considerable interest and that, together, we will be able to manage our water resources more effectively and improve their condition. Every drop of water retained in our region matters enormously.”
The project and the rules governing the award of grants were discussed at the launch conference held on 22 June. Participants included representatives of local authorities, institutions involved in water management and agriculture, and experts specialising in water retention and measures to mitigate the effects of drought.
Presentations from the launch conference:
- Small-Scale Water Retention – Department of Rural Development (presentation by Violetta Witkowska)
- Water Retention as a Way to Mitigate the Effects of Drought (presentation by Agnieszka Siłacz)
- Water Retention in Agricultural Landscapes (presentation by Bogumił Nowak)
Funding is available for projects that combine the construction or reconstruction of infrastructure with tangible water-retention benefits, including:
- Water-retention infrastructure: construction and renovation of weirs, sluices, water-level control structures, fish ponds and artificial water reservoirs with a capacity of up to 5 million cubic metres.
- Ecosystem-based measures: restoration of wetlands, renaturalisation of river channels and planting vegetation between agricultural fields, provided these measures accompany a construction project.
The following entities are eligible to apply for grants:
- Regional self-government units;
- individuals;
- associations and foundations;
- cooperatives;
- companies, including general and limited partnerships;
- churches and religious organisations;
- other legal entities, including universities.
The total funding pool amounts to PLN 60 million. The maximum grant for a single beneficiary is EUR 200,000, with funding covering up to 100% of eligible costs. The project will cover rural areas, including entire rural municipalities and rural parts of urban-rural municipalities.
Funding can be used, among other things, to construct and modernise water-retention infrastructure, such as weirs, sluices and water-level control structures, as well as to create or restore small retention reservoirs, including artificial water bodies and fish ponds.
The project is financed under the European Funds for Kujawy and Pomorze 2021-2027 programme.
For further information about the project “Development of Small-Scale Water Retention for Environmental Purposes in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region”, please contact the staff of the Department of Rural Development:
- Paweł Roszak – email: p.roszak@kujawsko-pomorskie.pl, tel. +48 784 936 398
- Bartłomiej Milak – email: b.milak@kujawsko-pomorskie.pl, tel. +48 604 781 381
Beata Krzemińska
Spokesperson of the Marshal’s Office
14 October 2026