Poland

Poland

Kutno County Case Area

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The area of the Kutno County is an important agricultural production area in the Lodzkie province in central Poland. The high quality of soil had contributed to the development of intense agriculture and thus to the conversion of the natural hydrogenic landscape (peatbogs and marshes). Only 5% of the county’s area reminded covered by forest. Land acquisition was based on the drainage of the area and regulation of rivers, followed but changes in the dynamics of water flow in the landscape. Inten-sive plant production resulted in water pollution, especially with nitrogen compounds. Nowadays the situation gets worse due to superimposed impact of climate change, namely frequencies and dura-tion of both hydraulic and agricultural drought. Yield loss results in increased interest of farmers in water retention and improvement of its quality.

Bedlno Commune, one of 10 communes in the Kutno County, has been selected for testing Wa-terdrive approach in the small agricultural catchment scale. One of the main reasons for choosing the commune was the location of the Stradzewski Channel basin, which lies entirely within the commune and is a system linked to the drainage system. The Stradzewski Channel is 14 km long and its catchment area is 5 331 ha. The second factor was that the Bedlno Water Company (associ-ation of farmers) is one of the most effective water company in the Lodzkie Province

Conclusions and findings

The start of WATERDRIVE project corresponded with the reorganisation of the water management system in Poland. in January 2018, the State Water Management Company Wody Polskie was es-tablished, which entailed the transfer of responsibility and competence for water management from multiple actors into a single handover at the level of the whole country. However, water companies remained an important local actor in water management in agricultural areas. These are voluntary associations of farmers who own the land through which the drainage system runs. The municipality may also be a member. Voluntary contributions paid by farmers form their budget. They can raise funds for investment. As a result of the reorganisation, the lack of communication between the two main actors, i.e. the national water authority and water companies, has become a serious problem. Supporting communication between them was one of the main goal of WATERDRIVE activities.

During the project, there has been an improvement in the cooperation between Bedlno and Zduny Water Companies and Wody Polskie (unit: Catchment Water Management Authorities in Łowicz), which has resulted in joint, complementary actions, e.g. controlling the outflow from drainage system (the so-called river channel retention). Facilitation by regional (Marshal Office of Łódzkie Voivodship) and local authorities (Bedlno commune and Zduny Commune) was important factor to strengthen their cooperation.

A significant factor affecting work in the Kutno County case area was the occurrence of severe drought in 2018 and 2019, which had impact in agricultural production. The scale of the problem of drought effects in whole Poland is evidenced, inter alia, by the fact of compensations paid and the level of drought risk disaster aid for farmers, which amounted to 2.07 billion PLN in 2018. In 2019 ca 355 thousand applications for compensation for losses worth over 2.3 billion PLN were implement-ed. The droughts affecting farmers and residents have turned water management from a theoretical research task into an important element affecting agricultural production.

Risk of atmospheric, hydrological, hydrogeological and agricultural drought on the basis of the "Plan for preventing the effects of drought in the water region of Central Vistula" of the National Water Management Authority in Warsaw 2017.

Risk of atmospheric, hydrological, hydrogeological and agricultural drought on the basis of the “Plan for preventing the effects of drought in the water region of Central Vistula” of the National Water Management Authority in Warsaw 2017.

The discussion about the possibilities of water retention in agricultural areas was the main topic of the 1st Local WATERDRIVE Meeting, which took place in February 2020 in Bedlno. The meeting was attended by farmers from Bedlno Commune (water company, farmers, community council), rep-resentatives of Wody Polskie (local, catchment, regional and national level), water companies and local authorities from Kutno County, regional authorities, agricultural advisors, and experts. Stake-holders identified the use of the drainage system as a basic tool in the fight against drought.  Reno-vating the drainage system and switching to a controlled drainage system allows water to be collect-ed in open ditches and underground pipes through damming facilities.  The result of the meeting was a joint action on the existing hydrotechnical infrastructure by the Bedlno Water Company and the Wody Polskie. Through weirs on the tributaries of the Bzura river, located in the Bedlno commune, water was dammed up by storing it in drainage systems and riverbeds. These activities are part of the national program “River cannel retention” launched by Wody Polskie in April 2020.

The “River cannel retention” programme has shown the potential for water retention in agricultural areas but also the need for major investments in repairing or reconstructing drainage systems and damming facilities. The funds allocated for maintenance works and investments in water retention in agricultural areas were insufficient. The high level of agricultural losses due to the drought gave a strong impetus to water retention measures by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, which started discussion with the European Commission. As a result of the dialogue, funds will be mobilised under the RDP 2021-2023 to increase water retention capacity and prevent flooding and drought in agricultural catchments.

Local work at commune/small agricultural catchment level on the possibilities to upgrade the drain-age system shows two aspects in addition to the financial aspect that should be solved. One of them is the lack of access to maps and digital data. In the case of the Stradzewski Channel and the Igla River, it was necessary to collect maps of the drained infrastructure, which are important for the tar-get location of activities in the catchment. Paper maps (1: 2 000), which are part of the documenta-tion from 1960-1970, have been scattered in the archives of water authorities and farmers. An inven-tory of melioration devices and digitalization of melioration maps are indispensable.

The second conclusion is that an Action programme should be developed at the level of the small agricultural catchment as a starting point for further actions. For the modernisation of the drainage system it is necessary for the project office to produce design maps, hydrological and hydraulic cal-culations and the final spatial concept. These analyses will form the basis for technical documenta-tion and permits. Preliminary estimated cost of analysis is ab. 45 000 euros. The development of the of drainage-related technical documents for building damming facilities in drainage ditches is similar in cost. However, this phase of work has not found a source of funding at the moment.

However, the Action programme should include two main elements: the modernisation of the drain-age system towards controlled run-off, and the application of nature-based solutions. The use of nature-based solutions (NBS) such as buffer strips, mid-field afforestation, restoration of wetlands or construction of artificial wetlands must be backed up by a strong previous education campaign among farmers. Understanding the impact of NBS measures on increasing water retention in the landscape, influence on water self-purification processes and increasing biodiversity will be crucial for the acceptance and cooperation of farmers in the implementation of the measures. Planned eco-schemes in the new RDP perspective and climate change adaptation actions in the Regional Opera-tional Programmes 2021-2027 may become important drivers for implementation of NBS measures in agricultural areas.

Multi-stakeholder cooperation started during the WATERDRIVE project found its continuation in official structures as a part of Local Water Partnerships in Kutno County. The initiative to create Lo-cal Water Partnerships was taken by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Agricultural Advisory Centre in Brwinów in cooperation with the Provincial Agricultural Advisory Cen-tres in 2020. The aim of the partnership is to diagnose the condition and principles of rational water management and drought prevention in the district. In the future, it will probably also be able to ob-tain funds for studies and expert opinions on water retention in agricultural areas and give opinions on planned investments

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