Lake Surduc ( ro, Lacul Surduc) is a dammed reservoir in the northwestern part of

Poiana Ruscă Mountains The Poiana Ruscă Mountains (part of the Western Carpathians) are a Carpathian mountain range in western Romania. The mountains are situated roughly south of the Mureș River, northeast of the Timiș River, and west of the Strei River. The Bega R ...

. It is located in

Timiș County Timiș () is a county ('' județ'') of western Romania on the border with Hungary and Serbia, in the historical region of Banat, with the county seat at Timișoara. It is the westernmost and the largest county in Romania in terms of land area. T ...

, on the administrative territory of

Fârdea Fârdea ( hu, Ferde; german: Ferden) is a commune in Timiș County, Romania. It is composed of seven villages: Drăgșinești, Fârdea (commune seat), Gladna Montană, Gladna Română, Hăuzești, Mâtnicu Mic and Zolt. Geography Fârdea is locat ...

. It got its name from the nearby village of

Surducu Mic Surducu may refer to one of two places in Romania: *Surducu Mare, a village in Forotic Commune, Caraș-Severin County *Surducu Mic, a village in Traian Vuia Traian Vuia or Trajan Vuia (; August 17, 1872 – September 3, 1950) was a Romanian inve ...

. The lake largely ensures the drinking water supply of

Timișoara ), City of Roses ( ro, Orașul florilor), City of Parks ( ro, Orașul parcurilor) , image_map = Timisoara jud Timis.svg , map_caption = Location in Timiș County , pushpin_map = Romania#Europe , pushpin_ ...

and the surrounding area and protects it from flooding. As the water of the lake does not freeze, thousands of waterfowl take shelter here during the winter, the lake being a recreation area for fishermen, hunters and tourists. Lake Surduc has been an

IUCN Category IV IUCN protected area categories, or IUCN protected area management categories, are categories used to classify protected areas in a system developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The enlisting of such areas is part ...

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

since 2000.

Description

The construction of the dam began in 1972, and the accumulation in 1976. In 1977 it reached almost 25 million m³ of water. The second stage began in 1981, being designed for the accumulation of a water volume of 51.08 million m³. The dam was built on the Gladna river, a left tributary of the upper Bega river, about 4 km upstream from the village of

. The

dike Dyke (UK) or dike (US) may refer to: General uses * Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian" * Dike (geology), a subvertical sheet-like intrusion of magma or sediment * Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess of moral justice * Dikes, ...

is built of ripraps with a concrete mask. The ripraps and the several thousand cubic meters of concrete support 417 m³ of water/m³ of ripraps. The dam has a height of 36 m, with an opening at the crown of 130 m, the length of the lake being 4 km, the width 3 km, and the maximum depth 17.2 m. It is the narrowest dam in Romania, relative to the volume of water held. Lake Surduc supplies drinking and industrial water to Timișoara and can set in motion the turbines of a 2 MW micro-hydropower system.

Protected area

Lake Surduc, in accordance with ''Timiș County Council Decision no. 19''/1995 and ''Law no. 5''/2000, was declared a protected natural area of national interest for the protection and conservation of ichthyofauna and avifauna. The identified natural habitats are: freshwater habitats,

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

s and

scrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, Herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or ...

s, and

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

habitats. Faunal elements include: aquatic invertebrates, amphibians (''

Bombina bombina The European fire-bellied toad (''Bombina bombina'') is a species of fire-bellied toad native to eastern parts of mainland Europe, where it can be found near waterbodies such as ponds and marshes. It is known for its red colored belly used to war ...

'', ''

Hyla arborea The European tree frog (''Hyla arborea'') is a small tree frog. As traditionally defined, it was found throughout much of Europe, Asia and northern Africa,Frost, Darrel R. ''Amphibian Species of the World''. Allen Press, Inc., 1985, p. 126. but b ...

'', '' Salamandra salamandra''), reptiles (''

Emys orbicularis The European pond turtle (''Emys orbicularis''), also called commonly the European pond terrapin and the European pond tortoise, is a species of long-living freshwater turtle in the family Emydidae. The species is endemic to the Western Palearc ...

'', ''

Natrix tessellata ''Natrix'' is a genus of Old World snakes found across Eurasia (although the range of '' Natrix tessellata'' extends into Egypt and those of '' N. astreptophora'' and '' N. maura'' into north-west Africa) in the subfamily Natricinae of the fa ...

''), fish (

carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...

bream Bream ( ) are species of freshwater and marine fish belonging to a variety of genera including ''Abramis'' (e.g., ''A. brama'', the common bream), ''Acanthopagrus'', '' Argyrops'', ''Blicca'', '' Brama'', ''Chilotilapia'', '' Etelis'', ''Lepo ...

zander The zander (''Sander lucioperca''), sander or pikeperch, is a species of ray-finned fish from the family Percidae, which includes the perches, ruffes and darters. It is found in freshwater and brackish habitats in western Eurasia. It is a popul ...

wels Wels (; Central Bavarian: ''Wös'') is a city in Upper Austria, on the Traun River near Linz. It is the county seat of Wels-Land, and with a population of approximately 60,000, the eighth largest city in Austria. Geography Wels is in the H ...

pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...

chub Chub is a common fish name. It pertains to any one of a number of ray-finned fish in several families and genera. In the UK, the term ''chub'' usually refers to the species ''Squalius cephalus''. In addition, see sea chub. In family Cyprinidae ...

perch Perch is a common name for fish of the genus ''Perca'', freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which three species occur in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Percif ...

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 ...

goby Goby is a common name for many species of small to medium sized ray-finned fish, normally with large heads and tapered bodies, which are found in marine, brackish and freshwater environments. Traditionally most of the species called gobies have b ...

), aquatic avifauna, especially wintering species and populations ('' Gavia stellata'', ''

Ardea alba The great egret (''Ardea alba''), also known as the common egret, large egret, or (in the Old World) great white egret or great white heron is a large, widely distributed egret. The four subspecies are found in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and ...

'', ''

Ciconia ciconia The white stork (''Ciconia ciconia'') is a large bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on the bird's wings. Adults have long red legs and long pointed red beaks, and measure on average from beak tip to en ...

'', ''

Tachybaptus ruficollis The little grebe (''Tachybaptus ruficollis''), also known as dabchick, is a member of the grebe family of water birds. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''takhus'' "fast" and ''bapto'' "to sink under". The specific ''ruficollis'' is from Latin ...

'', ''

Aythya ferina The common pochard (; ''Aythya ferina'') is a medium-sized diving duck. The scientific name is derived from Greek '' aithuia'', an unidentified seabird mentioned by authors including Hesychius and Aristotle, and Latin ''ferina'', "wild game", f ...

'', '' Aythya fuligula'', '' Aythya nyroca'', ''

Anas platyrhynchos The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Argen ...

'', ''

Fulica atra The Eurasian coot (''Fulica atra''), also known as the common coot, or Australian coot, is a member of the rail and crake bird family, the Rallidae. It is found in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and parts of North Africa. It has a slaty-bla ...

''),

birds of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predators ...

('' Buteo buteo'', ''

Falco tinnunculus The common kestrel (''Falco tinnunculus'') is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European kestrel, Eurasian kestrel, or Old World kestrel. In the United Kingdom, where no ...

'', ''

Falco peregrinus The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-grey back, ...

'', ''

Accipiter gentilis The northern goshawk (; ''Accipiter gentilis'') is a species of medium-large raptor in the family Accipitridae, a family which also includes other extant diurnal raptors, such as eagles, buzzards and harriers. As a species in the genus ''Accipit ...

'', ''

Circus aeruginosus The western marsh harrier (''Circus aeruginosus'') is a large harrier, a bird of prey from temperate and subtropical western Eurasia and adjacent Africa. It is also known as the Eurasian marsh harrier. Formerly, a number of relatives were includ ...

'', '' Strix uralensis'', '' Athene noctua''), as well as passage species (''

Coracias garrulus The European roller (''Coracias garrulus'') is the only member of the roller family of birds to breed in Europe. Its overall range extends into the Middle East, Central Asia and the Maghreb. The European roller is found in a wide variety of hab ...

'').

References

{{Reflist Geography of Timiș County Reservoirs in Romania