Small (natural) water retention in rural areas

Since 1960`s in Poland a phrase „small retention† has been used although it has been unknown in other countries. †œSmall retention† means various forms of human activity aiming towards limiting the fast water runoff after snow melting and heavy rains. It is believed that water that has been retained in periods of its excess can supply water courses during summer. It can also be used for agricultural purposes as it increases water availability for crops and improves biodiversity of rural areas. Many different methods of water retention have been defined. Among others, increase of potential retention of surface waters can be achieved by construction of reservoirs or damming on rivers and lakes. Ground water retention capacity can be improved by increasing recharge of aquifers and improvement of soil structure in the aeration zone. Due to the form and way of implementation of small retention measures they can be divided into technical and non-technical measures. In other words, small retention can be defined as a set of measures aiming towards reconstruction of natural retention in the catchment that has been modified or destroyed by human activity. In this paper, it has been stressed that activities and tasks undertaken in Europe in recent years under phrase †œincrease of natural retention† can be covered by the definition of small retention.