The Ivaylovgrad Dam(язовир "Ивайловград") is located in the eastern Rhodope Mountains and is situated on the Arda river, Southern Bulgaria. There are another two large dams of the Arda upstream -

Kardzhali Dam The Kardzhali Reservoir is a reservoir formed by the ''Kardzhali Dam'', situated less than 1 km to the west of the town of Kardzhali in Kardzhali Province, Bulgaria. It is the second largest reservoir by volume in the country. The dam was c ...

and Studen Kladenets Dam to the west of Ivaylovgrad Dam. The dam creates

Ivaylovgrad reservoir The Ivailovgrad lake is one of the largest water reservoirs in Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of th ...

, which has a total volume of and a

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

of . It is situated at an average 120 m above sea level, its dam being long and high. The top of the dam consists of six spillways, totaling m in length.NEK brochure "Hydro Power Casdaces and Dams" page 36
Ivaylovgrad Reservoir is an attractive place for tourists and

fishermen A fisher or fisherman is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishers may be professional or recreati ...

, where

rudd ''Scardinius'' is a genus of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae commonly called rudds. Locally, the name "rudd" without any further qualifiers is also used for individual species, particularly the common rudd (''S. erythrophthalmus''). Th ...

is caught in great numbers.

Hydroelectric generation

Arda Hydro Power Cascade consist of three large hydro power sites, mainly used for electricity generation, with a total installed capacity of 331 MW and a total annual output of over 520 GWh/y. Ivaylovgrad

hydroelectric power plant Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

(HPP) is the last stage of the Arda cascade. The initial plans for the construction of a dam on the Arda date to as early as 1948. Construction began in 1959 and was completed in 1964, with the HPP starting production the same year. "Ivaylovgrad" Hydroelectric Power Plant is built-in inside the dam. The HPP has four Francis-type turbines, 26 MW each with a mean annual generation of 195 GWh/y.

External links

References

{{Arda (Maritsa) dams Buildings and structures in Kardzhali Province Buildings and structures in Haskovo Province Rhodope Mountains Dams in Bulgaria Hydroelectric power stations in Bulgaria Dams completed in 1964