Watscha reservoir
| Watscha reservoir | |||||||
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| Coordinates | 41 ° 55 '55 " N , 24 ° 26' 18" E | ||||||
| Data on the structure | |||||||
| Lock type: | Dam wall | ||||||
| Construction time: | 1973-1975 | ||||||
| Height of the barrier structure : | 144.5 m | ||||||
| Crown length: | 420 m | ||||||
| Power plant output: | 160 MW | ||||||
| Data on the reservoir | |||||||
| Altitude (at congestion destination ) | 535 m | ||||||
| Water surface | 4.97 km² | ||||||
| Reservoir length | 12 km | ||||||
| Storage space | 160.4 million m² | ||||||
The Watscha Reservoir (Bulgarian язовир Въча) and the Krichim Reservoir (Bulgarian язовир Кричим) are located in Bulgaria in the northern part of the Western Rhodope Mountains .
The Watscha reservoir takes its name from the Watscha river , which it dams in its lower reaches. The Kritschim reservoir, immediately north of it, takes its name from the town of Kritschim , which is 6 km north of its dam.
The upper reservoir is the Watscha reservoir and the lower reservoir is the Kritschim reservoir and is significantly smaller than the upper reservoir. Both dams build up the river Watscha one after the other and lie directly one behind the other, in north-south direction, elongated in a steep mountain gorge that was formed by the Watscha. The water flows north, towards Krichim.
The connecting road from Kritschim to Dewin , which lies in the Rhodope Mountains, runs along both reservoirs .
Watscha reservoir
The 144.5 m high dam of the Watscha reservoir is the highest in Bulgaria. According to other information, the dam is 141 m high. The length of the dam is 420 m. The highest water level in the reservoir can be 535 m above sea level, according to other sources 689 m.
The reservoir has a capacity of 160.4 million m 2 , according to other sources 226.12 million m 2 . It covers an area of 4.97 km 2 and is 12 km long.
At the foot of the dam is the "Orpheus" hydropower plant (Bulgar. ПАВЕЦ Орфей, ПАВЕЦ means pumped storage plant; Bulgar. Помпено – акумулационна ВЕЦ), which is also known as the Watscha I hydropower plant (Bulgar. ЧЕЦ). Before the general overhaul in 2006, the capacity of the four water turbines totaled 160 MW . One of the turbines can be reversed in the working direction and used as a pump (reversing pump). With an output of 45 MW, it can pump water from the Kritschim reservoir into the Watscha reservoir, which thus also functions as a pumped storage power plant .
Every year 229.19 million KWh of electricity are generated here. Every year, 635.33 million m 3 of water flow through the Watscha and accordingly also through the dam wall. The flow rate is 20.15 m 3 / s.
The Watscha reservoir is located in the municipality of Dewin .
The Watscha reservoir was called " Anton Ivanov " (Bulgarian язовир Антон Иванов) in communist times , named after Anton Ivanov's partisan group , which was active in this region of the Western Rhodopes. It was renamed Watscha Reservoir in 1999.
Krichim reservoir
The monastery "Uspenia bogoroditschno" (German: Assumption of the Virgin Mary ; founded in the 13th century) is located 6 km south of Krichim, on the river Watscha, on the road to Dewin . Nearby is also the Krichim reservoir dam.
The dam of the Kritschim reservoir is located 6 km north of the dam of the Watscha reservoir. The Kritschim Reservoir extends directly from the foot of the Watscha Dam to the Kritschim Dam.
At the foot of the Krichim reservoir dam, the Krichim hydropower plant (Bulgarian ВЕЦ Кричим) is installed, which is also known as Watscha II hydropower plant (Bulgarian ВЕЦ Въча II). The dam is 104.5 m high. The reservoir has a capacity of 20.3 million m². Before the general overhaul in 2006, the total capacity of the two turbines was 80 MW.
construction
After planning work began in 1921, construction of the Watscha hydropower plant began in 1929 (according to other sources, 1923) near Krichim. Construction wasn't completed until 15 years later.
The two dams were built from 1973 to 1975. They are part of a whole cascade of dams that belong to the Dospat-Watscha cascade (Bulgarian каскада Доспат-Въча). This group of hydropower plants connected in series includes the Teschel and Dewin hydropower plants (Bulgarian ВЕЦ Тешел and ВЕЦ Девин), which dam the Watscha for the purpose of generating energy.
After being in operation for 30 years, the hydropower plants at the Watscha and Kritschim reservoirs were completely overhauled from 2002 to 2006 for 34 million euros. This ensures operation for at least another 30 years. The project was carried out by the company consortium Alstom- Power (Austria) and Voith- Siemens (Austria). The original power plants were also built by Austrian companies.
Plovdiv water supply
The water from the two reservoirs is used to irrigate the Plovdiv plain and secures part of the drinking water supply of Plovdiv.
With a major project, for which 300 million leva were estimated, the growing demand for drinking water in Plovdiv is to be ensured. In January 2008 the project was still in the planning phase.
The water is to be diverted from the Watscha I hydropower plant. A drinking water purification station must be built, an above-ground water pipe to transport the water to Plovdiv by means of gravitational force, a water reservoir under the village of Markowo with a capacity of 120,000 m 2 and a water distribution ring around Plovdiv.
