The government has received a 35 million zloty loan from the World Bank to prepare documentation, design and environmental studies for the construction of the Kąty-Myscowa flood control reservoir and a tender for its construction will be announced as early as September.

The reservoir in the Jasło district is supposed to prevent floods, increase potable water resources and serve the development of tourism. So far, a hydraulic model of the reservoir has been developed, and the works related to a wildlife inventory covering a full one-year vegetation period of flora and fauna are being completed.

The first real plan to tame the Wisłoka River appeared over 100 years ago. Today, however, it is much more up-to-date and important, because it concerns the safety of almost 22 thousand people. It is also getting closer to the end of the research, expertise and agreements that have been in progress for years. The whole procedure may be incomprehensible to residents, but the project must be thoroughly prepared not only by geologists, hydrologists, engineers and ecologists, but also well financed and supported by the local community. The arguments of all parties finally met at a point which we can say is the beginning of real work.

The plans for the Kąty-Myscowa reservoir are a bit of a witness to Poland's independence. The first one was made in 1919 by engineer Gabriel Narutowicz. Three years later he became president of the Republic of Poland. Although Narutowicz treated the reservoir as an ambition, he did not succeed in realizing his own plans. Over the following decades, new expert opinions were created. Indeed, other artificial reservoirs were built in the Subcarpathian region, the most famous of which are the Solina Reservoir and the Myczkowski Reservoir. Only the area around Kąty was waiting for its turn. 

Meanwhile, more and more frequent droughts and dwindling supplies of drinking water on the one hand, and floods causing huge losses on the other, have forced successive governments to take increasingly urgent action. The Law and Justice government has a chance to bring the matter to a happy... beginning (the construction will take many years), and as part of the Retention Development Program, which also serves the implementation of the Polish Strategy for Responsible Development, a retention reservoir will be built on the Wisłoka River in the Beskid Niski region, which has been planned for almost half a century.

In 2019, the long-awaited documentation for the reservoir and the environmental decision were prepared. Thanks to the implementation of the project, the current 100-year water flood zone would be reduced in an area of about 5.4 thousand hectares, where nearly 22 thousand people live. The protection would cover not only over 7 thousand residential and farm buildings, but also 714 km of provincial, district and commune roads, 74 bridges, 5 water intakes and 7 sewage treatment plants. It is also important to create a reservoir of high quality drinking water for supplying large urban agglomerations, such as Jasło, Dębica or Mielec.

After the amendment of the Water Law Act, i.e. since January 2018, the entity responsible for the preparation and implementation of the discussed project is the State Water Management Company Wody Polskie - Regional Water Management Board in Rzeszów.

During the construction of the Kąty-Myscowa reservoir, the impact on the environment is being studied in cooperation with the Magura National Park. Such a large water resource is a scenic value for the region, attracts tourists, but also numerous animal species. Lake Solina, located on the San River, is an example of excellent use of the potential. The planned capacity of the reservoir is 60 million m3. 

The solutions and the positive evaluation of the progress of the works completed so far have been approved by the World Bank, which approved the inclusion of this task in the Flood Protection Project in the Odra and Vistula River Basins. The funds granted by the World Bank will make it possible to commission further necessary studies, including the updating of the concept of technical solutions, designs of local spatial development plans including the study of conditions and land use, preparation of surface archaeological surveys along with the determination of the necessary scope of archaeological research, preparation of the Property Acquisition and Resettlement Plan required by the policies of the World Bank, and finally the preparation of the construction and detailed design, which will be the basis for applying for the permit for the project implementation.

It is expected that as a result of reservoir operation it will be possible to secure a guaranteed flow in the Wisłoka River for as long as 6 months. It will be of strategic importance in fighting the effects of drought due to recurring cyclical water shortages. The anti-flood function of the facility is also not without significance.

The construction of the reservoir will reduce flood flows in the dam section by as much as 4 times. In cooperation with the already completed and planned accompanying investments, the construction of the Kąty-Myscowa reservoir will allow maximum reduction of flood hazard in the Wisłoki river basin. In the case of the city of Jaslo, flood risk will be completely eliminated. Reduction of flood zones will also be noticeable in Debica and Mielec.