Subsidy for water and marine resources management measures and measures affecting water systems

Application period for the subsidies is in October-November each year.

Apply for the subsidy online. If you are unable to apply online, please use the application form instead. Send the form as an attachment to the general online form, by email or by post to the registry office of the ELY Centre.

The application must be accompanied by a more detailed project plan which includes a cost estimate, a funding plan, an implementation schedule and a map of the target area. The application must be accompanied by copies of the permits and consents required for the project measures and an account of which permits and consents are to be obtained. If the applicant does not use an electronic account, the community’s signing rights must be verified. For more detailed instructions, see the separate application instructions.

How to apply for payment

Apply for payment online in accordance with the decision. Fill in the application carefully under the Payments tab and attach the necessary attachments.

Use the printable form to apply for payment, if you have applied the subsidy with a printable form instead of using the e-service. Submit the payment application by post to the KEHA Centre's payments unit. You can also submit your application as an appendix to the ELY Centre’s general sevice form.

Proving the right to use services

Prepare to prove that you have the right to act on behalf of the applying organisation. If you use the e-service, we recommend that you use the Suomi.fi e-Authorizations service. In the e-Authorizations service, organisations can authorise individuals to act on their behalf in matters within the scope of a specific authorisation. If authorisation is used in applying for aid, organisations can also apply for an authorisation for other individuals during the project if there are changes in personnel, for example. Authorisation for this aid is "Applying for subsidies for employment, environment, business and transport".

If you have the sole right to sign for your organisation as defined in your organisation’s rules, you can submit an electronic application on your organisation’s behalf without any separate authorisation.

If you do not have the sole right to sign for your organisation and your organisation does not use the e-Authorizations service, or if you apply for aid using a printed form, attach a power of attorney with your application. The power of attorney must indicate that you have the right to act on your organisation’s behalf in this matter.

To be eligible for the subsidy, the costs of the project must be reasonable compared to the benefits to be achieved. A discretionary subsidy can be awarded for the costs resulting from the planning, execution and administration of the project, the fees payable for the permits of the project and for the costs resulting from the fulfilment of obligations under the law and obligations to hold a permit. As a rule, the amount of the subsidy will not exceed 50 % of the total eligible costs.

These are the deemed values when subsidy decision is made from 1.7.2023 onwards: Voluntary work can be included in the costs and its deemed value is 20 euros per hour per worker, 40 euros per hour per tractor or motor-driven working machine and 10 euros per hour for small motorised machinery (e.g. ATV, snowmobile, mower or motorboat).

These are the deemed values when subsidy decision is made before 1.7.2023: Voluntary work can be included in the costs and its deemed value is 15 euros per hour per worker and 30 euros per hour per tractor or motor-driven working machine.

The subsidy will be paid ex post on the basis of the actual costs incurred.

In order to receive the subsidy, the applicant must usually be a registered association, a participants’ association of a water area, a fishery region or a community, municipality or company referred to in the Water Act. Funding may be granted for a project for a maximum of three years at a time. The projects aim at long-term impacts on the condition of waters, which is why extensive project packages and cooperation projects between different parties are prioritised.

A prerequisite for the payment of the subsidy is that the beneficiary has the required permits and rights under the Water Act and other legislation to carry out the project. In addition, the beneficiary is committed to take properly care of the use and maintenance of the structures as well as other obligations following the completion of the project.

The projects should be put out to tender when necessary in compliance with the Act on Public Contracts and Concessions. If the subsidy is used for supporting economic activities, EU State aid rules will apply.

The grant is discretionary and the amount and scope of funding are defined annually. The ELY Centres issue a notification on the more detailed content and schedule of the subsidy application process usually in the autumn.