Bautzen Reservoir

The Bautzen Reservoir, Upper Sorbian Budyska Recna zawěra, is located north of Bautzen in Upper Lusatia (Saxony) and is fed by the river Spree. The dam is used for domestic water supply, the low water levels, flood protection, and especially the constant water supply of the Boxberg power plant on the River Spree and beyond even the fishing and leisure recreation.

Construction

The shut-off consists of two Erdschüttdämmen with bituminous outer skin seal. The dam was built from 1968 to 1975 and put into operation in 1977. Both dams were set 1999-2002 repaired. The Bautzen Reservoir has an overflow system, which can flow over a maximum of 225 cubic meters per second at high water. The plant has been used three times, namely during the flood in 1981, August 2010 and June 2013.

There were formerly the villages Malsitz and Nimschütz At the site of the dam. The residents were relocated. During the repairs, the remains of the villages were accessible at the bottom of the empty dam.

The dam has a pre-dam Oehna and a forebay Neumalsitz whose Absperrbauwerke also are dams with 102 and 210.2 m in length. Swimming, sailing and other recreational sports in and around the lake are possible. In summer, the dam is frequently affected by blue-green algae, so that the beaches often have to be locked. And hiking around the lake is possible. In the summer of 2005, the dam was recommended because of the good water quality of the official side as bathing.

The old course of the River Spree in the vented dam

At the newly established domestic water Bautzen Reservoir began two weeks before the scheduled date of the sample storage. (27 June 1974)

Built by VEB Spezialbaukombinat Hydraulic