Measures by the Ministry of Agriculture to address flood damage: insufficient water retention in the landscape
PRESS RELEASE ON AUDIT NO 25/06 – 16 March 2026
Over the past 27 years, floods have caused a total of 260 billion crowns in damage in the Czech Republic. Flood control measures are intended to prevent extensive damage. The Supreme Audit Office (SAO) audited CZK 7.1 billion spent by the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) between the years 2020 and 2024 on flood protection and water retention in the landscape. And it was precisely in the subsidy programmes, where one of the goals was to improve the landscape’s retention capacity, that the SAO uncovered shortcomings. According to the SAO, sufficient water retention in the landscape is not ensured.
In its Strategy 2030* the MoA has set targets that are to be achieved through, among other things, subsidy programmes. The SAO found that the Ministry failed to meet the planned targets for three of the eight audited subsidy programmes, particularly in improving the retention capacity of the landscape.
In the programme for supporting measures on small watercourses and reservoirs, the MoA failed to meet the set goals for 10 out of the total of 15 indicators. For seven of these indicators, the targets were not fulfilled even by 50%. To give an example, the target regarding the expansion of the retention capacity was fulfilled by 49%, and the task of constructing, reconstructing and repairing 800,000 m² of riverbank reinforcement was fulfilled by only one-fifth.
As for the remaining two programmes which did not meet the planned targets, the MoA had repeatedly lowered the targets so that compliance could be reported, at least formally. To illustrate, the original target for retention volume was only achieved by 22%, but after lowering the target, fulfilment of over 100% was subsequently reported. “Therefore, formally, the target was achieved. However, there was no significant increase in retention capacity. Originally, the MoA set high targets for flood prevention, but in the following years these targets have been lowered. Every postponed or unimplemented project can thus result in a significant damage to unprotected property of the state and of the citizens in the future,” said Pavel Hrnčíř, Member of the SAO Board who led the audit.
The SAO found that the Strategy 2030 does not include indicators that would allow for an assessment of the actual benefits and impacts of the provided support, specifically whether the support contributed to the achievement of the strategic targets. The MoA does not identify in advance the specific needs for the construction or renovation of ponds and small water reservoirs, and, as a result, it cannot subsequently assess whether the targets of the programme correspond to specific needs.
During an audit of 35 selected projects involving seven subsidy recipients, the SAO found that the recipients had spent the funds allocated for the project implementation largely in an effective, economical and legally compliant manner. The SAO identified shortcomings in effectiveness in four projects, out of which two have been assessed as effective with minor shortcomings. These included, for example, a reduction in the flow capacity of a watercourse channel due to obstructions. In two other projects, the SAO assessed effectiveness as limited, when, for example, the stream was clogged with debris and sediment due to insufficient maintenance. As for the economical use of the funds, the SAO has identified three of the projects as having minor shortcomings.
Communication Department
Supreme Audit Office
* Strategy of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic with outlook up to 2030.