In accordance with Article 13 of the Water Framework Directive (WFD), Member States ensure the preparation of river basin management plans for each river basin district lying wholly within their territory. The documents prepared constitute the basis for decisions affecting the status of water resources and, moreover, define the principles of water management during a 6‑year planning cycle. The plans affect not only the shaping of water management, but also other sectors, including, among others: industry, municipal management, agriculture, forestry, transport, fisheries, and tourism.
Work is currently underway on the third update of river basin management plans (III aRBMP) within the fourth planning cycle. The State Water Holding Polish Waters has obtained funding from the European Union for the project “Preparation of draft third updates of river basin management plans (III aRBMP) together with the planning documentation forming the basis for their preparation.”
The project is co‑financed under the European Funds for Infrastructure, Climate and Environment 2021–2027 (FEnIKS) programme.
Total project value: PLN 39,802,000.00
EU contribution: PLN 31,726,174.20
Detailed information on the III aRBMP is available on the website.
Due to the introduction by the new Water Law Act of a river basin district delineation different from the previous one, during the third planning cycle river basin management plans were prepared for the following river basin districts:
On 23 March 2023, regulations of the Minister of Infrastructure on river basin management plans entered into force for seven river basin districts: the Dniester, Danube, Banówka, Elbe, Neman, Pregolya and Świeża. For the remaining two river basin districts, the regulations entered into force in February 2023 (17 February – Vistula, 24 February – Odra). Thus, the second update of river basin management plans (II aRBMP) is in force throughout the entire territory of Poland.
In this planning cycle, the scope of the national water‑environment programme was fully incorporated into the content of the II aRBMP.
The preparation of the II aRBMP was co‑financed by the European Union under the Infrastructure and Environment Operational Programme 2014–2020.
In accordance with the provisions of the WFD and the Water Law Act, river basin management plans are subject to review and update on a cyclical basis, every six years. The first update of these documents (I aRBMP, 2nd planning cycle) was carried out in 2010–2015. The preparation of the documents was the responsibility of the President of the National Water Management Authority. Once prepared, the draft documents were subjected to a strategic environmental assessment and to six‑month public consultations. Due to difficulties during the verification process, the documents were adopted somewhat later than originally planned.
The update of the RBMPs was not only a fulfilment of the provisions of the WFD and the Water Law Act, but above all an effort to:
On 18 October 2016, the Council of Ministers adopted the first update of the RBMPs in the form of a regulation.
In the first planning cycle, the basic planning documents required under the Water Framework Directive and the Water Law Act were the National Water‑Environment Programme (NWEP) and the River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs).
The National Water‑Environment Programme defined basic and supplementary measures aimed at improving or maintaining good water status, and its summary constituted a key element of the river basin management plans. The NWEP was prepared for the first time in 2008 and approved in 2010 in accordance with the provisions of the Water Law Act then in force. The document is available on the website. In accordance with Article 113b(9) of the Water Law Act and Article 11(8) of the WFD, the NWEP was subject to review every six years.
During the 1st and 2nd planning cycles, the President of the National Water Management Authority was responsible for preparing ten RBMPs, respectively for the river basin districts of:
For the first time, river basin management plans were prepared in accordance with the requirements of the WFD in 2009 and adopted by a resolution of the Council of Ministers on 22 February 2011.