PL
In Poland, we have been observing an increase in the frequency and intensity of droughts for years. This dangerous phenomenon has a constant, negative impact on our lives, the environment and the entire economy. The basic document in the fight against its effects is Drought Effects Counteracting Plan (DECP), under which 55 investments have already been implemented for almost 150 million PLN. Under the slogan “Stop the Drought! Start Retention!,” the State Water Holding Polish Waters has started working on updating the document. Everyone is invited to cooperate in its development: from scientists, representatives of the national and local governments, through entrepreneurs and farmers, to all of us, everyday water users.
DECP is the most important document in the fight against drought. It is created on the basis of the guidelines of the EU Water Framework Directive and the provisions of national law – the Water Law Act. The first DECP was developed for the years 2021-2027 and is subject to update at least once every six years. Polish Waters has begun work on its first update, which will last until 2027, and one of its key elements will be six-month public consultations. The DECP and its update complement other planning documents in the field of water management: water management plans and flood risk management plans.
“Updating the Drought Effects Counteracting Plan requires taking action at many levels and on a huge scale. Water resources management is the joint responsibility of all water users, therefore only through dialogue and cooperation of all stakeholders will we be able to develop a comprehensive set of solutions for the next perspective. We are pleased with the great interest of the public in the first conference ‘Stop the Drought! Start Retention!’,” said Joanna Kopczyńska, president of State Water Holding Polish Waters.
Specific Action Program
The update of the Drought Effects Counteracting Plan (uDECP) aims to update the assessment of areas at risk of drought, as well as to review the directions of action proposed in the DECP. “A new element of the uDECP will be the inclusion of drought risk management activities. In the update, we will develop a program that will be assigned to individual river basins and communes. This will create a specific set of projects, the implementation of which at the local level will enable effective counteracting of the effects of drought, also on a macro scale,” adds Paulina Budner, Director of the Department of Flood and Drought Protection, State Water Holding Polish Waters.
The work is supported by a group of experts, including representatives of the scientific community and non-governmental organizations.
This has already been achieved
During the implementation of the first DECP, 55 investments worth almost 150 million PLN have been completed so far. The tasks completed include larger ones, such as the comprehensive modernization of the Ruda reservoir near Mława, which restored the reservoir’s original retention capacity, as well as smaller tasks in the catchments of small rivers, including agricultural catchments threatened by drought. An example is the reconstruction of hydrotechnical facilities on the Rgilewka, Tralalka and Struga Kiełczewska rivers or the Bylice Canal and the Dzierzbicki Canal, which increased the retention capacity of these streams. Another important local task from the point of view of increasing water retention was the creation of a flood reserve in the Piechota Młyński pond on the Skrwa Lewa river in Strzałki in the Gostynin commune in Mazovia.
It’s not enough for snow or rain to fall
Poland is one of the countries with the poorest water resources in the European Union. There is almost 3 times less water per capita in our country than in most European countries, yet almost half of Europe suffers from draught. The frequency of droughts and the risks they pose are influenced by the constant warming of the climate. This results, among other things, in a decrease in snowfall.
“These days, we often hear: why are you talking about droughts when it is raining? Yes, it is, but the rainfall that occurred, for example, in November, is a drop in the ocean of needs. In the regions of the country with the greatest water deficit – Mazovia, Lublin, Podlasie, Wielkopolska and part of the Masurian Lake District, such rainfall is insufficient. To fundamentally change the situation, we need continuous, low-intensity rainfall for 3-4 weeks, or a snow cover 1-1.5 meter thick which would melt gradually over several months,” explains Rafał Jakimiak, coordinator of the uDECP project.
Important changes are also observed in rainfall – it falls less frequently, but heavily and more intensively, and extremely dry (or concreted) ground is unable to absorb such rainfall. As a result, almost all rainwater very quickly and uselessly flows into rivers and then into the sea. Within the country’s borders, we manage to retain about 7.5% of the average annual river runoff, while due to geographical conditions we can retain even 15%. An increasingly visible effect of this is the drying up of lakes and rivers in Poland.
It’s time to sound the alarm
In September this year, the water level in the Vistula River by the Warsaw boulevards dropped to a record low of 20 cm. At that time, water levels were mainly in the low-water zone (as many as 73% of water gauge stations), and the high-water zone was recorded at only 2%. During this summer, restrictions on water supplies were introduced in some regions. Record-high temperatures also contributed to increased water evaporation. This was accompanied by increasingly frequent, strong winds. All this deepened the problem. Currently, the situation is not much better. In the Vistula River basin, low levels were recorded at approx. 50% of water gauge stations, and slightly better in the Odra River basin, where average water levels were observed at most stations. Many years of errors and omissions in water management are also significant. For example, instead of maintaining the natural retention potential of marshes and wetlands, they were systematically drained through intensive drainage in order to obtain the largest possible agricultural areas. For similar reasons, water holes and ponds in the fields and oxbow lakes were liquidated.
“Stop the Drought! Start Retention!”
With the conference “Stop the Drought! Start Retention!,” Polish Waters are launching an information campaign, during which they will inform the public about the next steps in the project and encourage cooperation. An integral element of the development of the uDECP will be six-month public consultations. The completion of the work on the uDECP project is planned for 2027. The adoption of the uDECP, by way of a regulation made by the minister responsible for water management, is to take place at the turn of 2027 and 2028. For more information, please visit the project website – www.stopsuszy.pl
The project “Review and update of the Drought Effects Counteracting Plan” was co-financed from the European Funds for Infrastructure, Climate, Environment for the years 2021-2027 (FEnIKS).
