diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 95926214..715600c7 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -23,18 +23,19 @@ NPROCS ?= 1
 # to half the number of CPU cores.
 GO_TEST_PARALLEL := $(shell echo $$(( $(NPROCS) / 2 )))
 
-GOLANGCILINT_VERSION ?= 1.63.4
+GOLANGCILINT_VERSION ?= 2.1.2
 GO_STATIC_PACKAGES = $(GO_PROJECT)/cmd/provider
 GO_LDFLAGS += -X $(GO_PROJECT)/pkg/version.Version=$(VERSION)
 GO_SUBDIRS += cmd pkg apis
 GO111MODULE = on
-GOLANGCILINT_VERSION = 2.1.2
 -include build/makelib/golang.mk
 
 # ====================================================================================
 # Setup Kubernetes tools
-KIND_NODE_IMAGE_TAG ?= v1.23.4
-DOCKER_REGISTRY ?= "xpkg.upbound.io"
+KIND_NODE_IMAGE_TAG ?= v1.30.13
+KIND_VERSION ?= v0.29.0
+KUBECTL_VERSION ?= v1.30.13
+CROSSPLANE_CLI_VERSION ?= v1.20.0
 -include build/makelib/k8s_tools.mk
 
 # ====================================================================================
diff --git a/apis/postgresql/v1alpha1/role_types.go b/apis/postgresql/v1alpha1/role_types.go
index 749ec159..f73ec84f 100644
--- a/apis/postgresql/v1alpha1/role_types.go
+++ b/apis/postgresql/v1alpha1/role_types.go
@@ -100,6 +100,8 @@ type RoleConfigurationParameter struct {
 
 // A RoleObservation represents the observed state of a PostgreSQL role.
 type RoleObservation struct {
+	// ConnectionLimit represents the applied connectionlimit
+	ConnectionLimit *int32 `json:"connectionLimit,omitempty"`
 	// PrivilegesAsClauses represents the applied privileges state, taking into account
 	// any defaults applied by Postgres, and expressed as a list of ROLE PRIVILEGE clauses.
 	PrivilegesAsClauses []string `json:"privilegesAsClauses,omitempty"`
diff --git a/apis/postgresql/v1alpha1/zz_generated.deepcopy.go b/apis/postgresql/v1alpha1/zz_generated.deepcopy.go
index 70d15187..ebe8708a 100644
--- a/apis/postgresql/v1alpha1/zz_generated.deepcopy.go
+++ b/apis/postgresql/v1alpha1/zz_generated.deepcopy.go
@@ -746,6 +746,11 @@ func (in *RoleList) DeepCopyObject() runtime.Object {
 // DeepCopyInto is an autogenerated deepcopy function, copying the receiver, writing into out. in must be non-nil.
 func (in *RoleObservation) DeepCopyInto(out *RoleObservation) {
 	*out = *in
+	if in.ConnectionLimit != nil {
+		in, out := &in.ConnectionLimit, &out.ConnectionLimit
+		*out = new(int32)
+		**out = **in
+	}
 	if in.PrivilegesAsClauses != nil {
 		in, out := &in.PrivilegesAsClauses, &out.PrivilegesAsClauses
 		*out = make([]string, len(*in))
diff --git a/cluster/local/integration_tests.sh b/cluster/local/integration_tests.sh
index 4b0585e7..c4dbfd86 100755
--- a/cluster/local/integration_tests.sh
+++ b/cluster/local/integration_tests.sh
@@ -102,8 +102,8 @@ EOF
 
   echo_step "tag controller image and load it into kind cluster"
 
-  docker tag "${CONTROLLER_IMAGE}" "xpkg.upbound.io/${PACKAGE_NAME}"
-  "${KIND}" load docker-image "xpkg.upbound.io/${PACKAGE_NAME}" --name="${K8S_CLUSTER}"
+  docker tag "${CONTROLLER_IMAGE}" "xpkg.crossplane.io/${PACKAGE_NAME}"
+  "${KIND}" load docker-image "xpkg.crossplane.io/${PACKAGE_NAME}" --name="${K8S_CLUSTER}"
 
   echo_step "create crossplane-system namespace"
 
@@ -220,7 +220,7 @@ cleanup_provider() {
   timeout=60
   current=0
   step=3
-  while [[ $(kubectl get providerrevision.pkg.crossplane.io -o name | wc -l | tr -d '[:space:]') != "0" ]]; do
+  while [[ $("${KUBECTL}" get providerrevision.pkg.crossplane.io -o name | wc -l | tr -d '[:space:]') != "0" ]]; do
     echo "waiting another $step seconds"
     current=$((current + step))
     if [[ $current -ge $timeout ]]; then
@@ -491,4 +491,4 @@ echo_step "--- TESTING POSTGRESDB ---"
 integration_tests_postgres
 echo_step "--- INTEGRATION TESTS FOR POSTGRESDB ACCOMPLISHED SUCCESSFULLY ---"
 
-integration_tests_end
\ No newline at end of file
+integration_tests_end
diff --git a/cluster/local/postgresdb_functions.sh b/cluster/local/postgresdb_functions.sh
index 4a64c7e2..800cc770 100644
--- a/cluster/local/postgresdb_functions.sh
+++ b/cluster/local/postgresdb_functions.sh
@@ -116,6 +116,46 @@ check_role_privileges() {
     fi
 }
 
+check_all_conn_limits() {
+  # check if the role connection limit is working properly
+  echo_step "check if role connection update is working"
+
+  TARGET_DB='db1'
+  PARENT_ROLE='parent-role'
+  USER_ROLE='example-role'
+
+  roles="$PARENT_ROLE $USER_ROLE"
+  conn_limits="12 -1"
+
+  # Iterate over roles and expected connection limits 
+  role_index=1
+  for role in $roles; do
+      expected_limits=$(echo "$conn_limits" | cut -d ' ' -f $role_index)
+      check_role_limits "$role" "$expected_limits" "${postgres_root_pw}" "$TARGET_DB"
+      role_index=$((role_index + 1))
+  done
+
+  echo_step_completed
+}
+
+check_role_limits() {
+    local role=$1
+    local expected_limits=$2
+    local target_db=$4
+
+    echo_info "Checking connection limits for role: $role (expected: $expected_limits)"
+    echo ""
+    result=$(PGPASSWORD="$3" psql -h localhost -p 5432 -U postgres -d postgres -wtAc" SELECT rolconnlimit FROM pg_roles WHERE rolname = '$role' " | tr '\n' ',' | sed 's/,$//')
+
+    if [ "$result" = "$expected_limits" ]; then
+        echo_info "Connection limits for $role are as expected: $result"
+        echo ""
+    else
+        echo_error "ERROR: Connection limits for $role do not match expected. Found: $result, Expected: $expected_limits"
+        echo ""
+    fi
+}
+
 check_schema_privileges(){
   # check if schema privileges are set properly
   echo_step "check if schema privileges are set properly"
@@ -149,7 +189,7 @@ check_observe_only_database(){
   echo_step "check if observe only database is preserved after deletion"
 
   # Delete the database kubernetes object, it should not delete the database
-  kubectl delete database.postgresql.sql.crossplane.io db-observe
+  "${KUBECTL}" delete database.postgresql.sql.crossplane.io db-observe
 
   local datname
   datname="$(PGPASSWORD="${postgres_root_pw}" psql -h localhost -p 5432 -U postgres -wtAc "SELECT datname FROM pg_database WHERE datname = 'db-observe';")"
@@ -196,6 +236,7 @@ integration_tests_postgres() {
   setup_postgresdb_tests
   check_observe_only_database
   check_all_roles_privileges
+  check_all_conn_limits
   check_schema_privileges
   delete_postgresdb_resources
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/examples/postgresql/role.yaml b/examples/postgresql/role.yaml
index 5f07914c..37cfc069 100644
--- a/examples/postgresql/role.yaml
+++ b/examples/postgresql/role.yaml
@@ -42,4 +42,35 @@ spec:
       createDb: true
       login: true
       createRole: true
-      inherit: true
\ No newline at end of file
+      inherit: true
+---
+apiVersion: postgresql.sql.crossplane.io/v1alpha1
+kind: Role
+metadata:
+  name: example-role
+spec:
+  forProvider:
+    connectionLimit: -1
+    privileges:
+      createDb: true
+  writeConnectionSecretToRef:
+    name: example-role-secret
+    namespace: default
+---
+apiVersion: postgresql.sql.crossplane.io/v1alpha1
+kind: Role
+metadata:
+  name: parent-role
+spec:
+  forProvider:
+    connectionLimit: 12
+    privileges:
+      login: true
+    configurationParameters:
+      - name: 'statement_timeout'
+        value: '123'
+      - name: 'search_path'
+        value: '"$user",public'
+  writeConnectionSecretToRef:
+    name: example-parent-role-secret
+    namespace: default
diff --git a/package/crds/postgresql.sql.crossplane.io_roles.yaml b/package/crds/postgresql.sql.crossplane.io_roles.yaml
index d06b8ce4..fcb55881 100644
--- a/package/crds/postgresql.sql.crossplane.io_roles.yaml
+++ b/package/crds/postgresql.sql.crossplane.io_roles.yaml
@@ -334,6 +334,10 @@ spec:
                           type: string
                       type: object
                     type: array
+                  connectionLimit:
+                    description: ConnectionLimit represents the applied connectionlimit
+                    format: int32
+                    type: integer
                   privilegesAsClauses:
                     description: |-
                       PrivilegesAsClauses represents the applied privileges state, taking into account
diff --git a/pkg/clients/postgresql/postgresql.go b/pkg/clients/postgresql/postgresql.go
index 270bb92c..00c16b32 100644
--- a/pkg/clients/postgresql/postgresql.go
+++ b/pkg/clients/postgresql/postgresql.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"database/sql"
 	"errors"
 	"net/url"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/crossplane-contrib/provider-sql/pkg/clients/xsql"
 	"github.com/lib/pq"
@@ -20,6 +21,8 @@ const (
 )
 
 type postgresDB struct {
+	db       *sql.DB
+	err      error
 	dsn      string
 	endpoint string
 	port     string
@@ -38,7 +41,11 @@ func New(creds map[string][]byte, database, sslmode string) xsql.DB {
 	password := string(creds[xpv1.ResourceCredentialsSecretPasswordKey])
 	dsn := DSN(username, password, endpoint, port, database, sslmode)
 
+	db, err := openDB(dsn, true)
+
 	return postgresDB{
+		db:       db,
+		err:      err,
 		dsn:      dsn,
 		endpoint: endpoint,
 		port:     port,
@@ -46,6 +53,34 @@ func New(creds map[string][]byte, database, sslmode string) xsql.DB {
 	}
 }
 
+// openDB returns a new database connection
+func openDB(dsn string, setLimits bool) (*sql.DB, error) {
+	db, err := sql.Open("postgres", dsn)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	// Since we are now using connection pooling, establish some sensible defaults for connections
+	// Ideally these parameters would be set in the config section for the provider, but that
+	// can be deferred to a later time.
+	if setLimits {
+		db.SetMaxOpenConns(5)
+		db.SetMaxIdleConns(2)
+		db.SetConnMaxIdleTime(2 * time.Minute)
+		db.SetConnMaxLifetime(10 * time.Minute)
+	}
+
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 5*time.Second)
+	defer cancel()
+
+	err = db.PingContext(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	return db, nil
+}
+
 // DSN returns the DSN URL
 func DSN(username, password, endpoint, port, database, sslmode string) string {
 	// Use net/url UserPassword to encode the username and password
@@ -63,12 +98,16 @@ func DSN(username, password, endpoint, port, database, sslmode string) string {
 // ExecTx executes an array of queries, committing if all are successful and
 // rolling back immediately on failure.
 func (c postgresDB) ExecTx(ctx context.Context, ql []xsql.Query) error {
-	d, err := sql.Open("postgres", c.dsn)
+	if c.db == nil || c.err != nil {
+		return c.err
+	}
+
+	err := c.db.PingContext(ctx)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	tx, err := d.BeginTx(ctx, nil)
+	tx, err := c.db.BeginTx(ctx, nil)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -76,7 +115,6 @@ func (c postgresDB) ExecTx(ctx context.Context, ql []xsql.Query) error {
 	// Rollback or Commit based on error state. Defer close in defer to make
 	// sure the connection is always closed.
 	defer func() {
-		defer d.Close() //nolint:errcheck
 		if err != nil {
 			tx.Rollback() //nolint:errcheck
 			return
@@ -94,37 +132,46 @@ func (c postgresDB) ExecTx(ctx context.Context, ql []xsql.Query) error {
 
 // Exec the supplied query.
 func (c postgresDB) Exec(ctx context.Context, q xsql.Query) error {
-	d, err := sql.Open("postgres", c.dsn)
+	if c.db == nil || c.err != nil {
+		return c.err
+	}
+
+	err := c.db.PingContext(ctx)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	defer d.Close() //nolint:errcheck
 
-	_, err = d.ExecContext(ctx, q.String, q.Parameters...)
+	_, err = c.db.ExecContext(ctx, q.String, q.Parameters...)
 	return err
 }
 
 // Query the supplied query.
 func (c postgresDB) Query(ctx context.Context, q xsql.Query) (*sql.Rows, error) {
-	d, err := sql.Open("postgres", c.dsn)
+	if c.err != nil || c.db == nil {
+		return nil, c.err
+	}
+
+	err := c.db.PingContext(ctx)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	defer d.Close() //nolint:errcheck
 
-	rows, err := d.QueryContext(ctx, q.String, q.Parameters...)
+	rows, err := c.db.QueryContext(ctx, q.String, q.Parameters...)
 	return rows, err
 }
 
 // Scan the results of the supplied query into the supplied destination.
 func (c postgresDB) Scan(ctx context.Context, q xsql.Query, dest ...interface{}) error {
-	db, err := sql.Open("postgres", c.dsn)
+	if c.db == nil || c.err != nil {
+		return c.err
+	}
+
+	err := c.db.PingContext(ctx)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	defer db.Close() //nolint:errcheck
 
-	return db.QueryRowContext(ctx, q.String, q.Parameters...).Scan(dest...)
+	return c.db.QueryRowContext(ctx, q.String, q.Parameters...).Scan(dest...)
 }
 
 // GetConnectionDetails returns the connection details for a user of this DB
diff --git a/pkg/controller/postgresql/role/reconciler.go b/pkg/controller/postgresql/role/reconciler.go
index 055e4b77..48a4a712 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/postgresql/role/reconciler.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/postgresql/role/reconciler.go
@@ -207,6 +207,7 @@ func (c *external) Observe(ctx context.Context, mg resource.Managed) (managed.Ex
 			Replication: new(bool),
 			BypassRls:   new(bool),
 		},
+		ConnectionLimit: new(int32),
 	}
 
 	query := "SELECT " +
@@ -259,6 +260,8 @@ func (c *external) Observe(ctx context.Context, mg resource.Managed) (managed.Ex
 	}
 	cr.Status.AtProvider.ConfigurationParameters = observed.ConfigurationParameters
 
+	cr.Status.AtProvider.ConnectionLimit = observed.ConnectionLimit
+
 	_, pwdChanged, err := c.getPassword(ctx, cr)
 	if err != nil {
 		return managed.ExternalObservation{}, err
@@ -405,10 +408,11 @@ func (c *external) Update(ctx context.Context, mg resource.Managed) (managed.Ext
 		// Update state to reflect the current configuration parameters
 		cr.Status.AtProvider.ConfigurationParameters = cr.Spec.ForProvider.ConfigurationParameters
 	}
-	cl := cr.Spec.ForProvider.ConnectionLimit
-	if cl != nil {
+	newCl := cr.Spec.ForProvider.ConnectionLimit
+	currCl := cr.Status.AtProvider.ConnectionLimit
+	if (newCl != nil && currCl != nil) && (int64(*currCl) != int64(*newCl)) {
 		if err := c.db.Exec(ctx, xsql.Query{
-			String: fmt.Sprintf("ALTER ROLE %s CONNECTION LIMIT %d", crn, int64(*cl)),
+			String: fmt.Sprintf("ALTER ROLE %s CONNECTION LIMIT %d", crn, int64(*newCl)),
 		}); err != nil {
 			return managed.ExternalUpdate{}, errors.Wrap(err, errUpdateRole)
 		}