The Solina Dam ( pl, Zapora Solińska) is the largest

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. It is located in Solina of

Lesko County __NOTOC__ Lesko County ( pl, powiat leski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Subcarpathian Voivodeship, south-eastern Poland, on the Slovak border. It was created in 2002 out of five gminas which previously ...

in the

Bieszczady Mountains Bieszczady Mountains ( pl, Bieszczady; sk, Beščady; uk, Бещади; hu, Besszádok) is a mountain range that runs from the extreme south-east of Poland and north-east of Slovakia through to western Ukraine. It forms the western part of th ...

area of south-eastern Poland.

History

The

San river The San ( pl, San; uk, Сян ''Sian''; german: Saan) is a river in southeastern Poland and western Ukraine, a tributary of the river Vistula, with a length of (it is the 6th-longest Polish river) and a basin area of 16,877 km2 (14,42 ...

which runs through the area has a large flood plain and a series of floods prompted the consideration of a dam to regulate the water flow. The first plans for a dam in the region came in 1921 and called for a small dam in

Myczkowce Myczkowce ( uk, Мичківці, ''Mychkivtsi'') is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Solina, within Lesko County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland. It lies approximately north-west of Solina, south-east of ...

. The project was slow to begin and with the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

it was put on hold. After the war ended the plans were revised and now included a larger dam in Solina. Various work began in 1953 and the smaller Myczkowce Dam downstream, which would become a supporting dam, was completed in the years 1956-1960. In 1960 work began based on a design by Feliks Niczke of Energoprojekt Warszawa. The construction was completed in 1969 and cost 1.5 billion of 1969 zlotys. of roads were also constructed as part of the project.

The dam

The dam is long, wide at the crest, and high. Its construction created the largest artificial lake in Poland -

Lake Solina Lake Solina ( pl, Jezioro Solińskie) is an artificial lake in the Bieszczady Mountains region, more precisely in Lesko County of the Subcarpathian Voivodship of Poland. Its coordinates are . The lake was created in 1968 by the construction of ...

. It has four turbines which were initially capable of generating 136 MW of electricity. As a

pumped-storage Pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH), or pumped hydroelectric energy storage (PHES), is a type of hydroelectric energy storage used by electric power systems for load balancing. The method stores energy in the form of gravitational potential ...

power station, two of the turbines can also reverse flow and send water from the Myczkowce Dam's reservoir back into the Lake Solina for use during peak periods, optimizing power generation. Starting in 1995 efforts have been made to modernize the power plant. The installation of new technologies between 2000 and 2003 and the replacement of the old turbines resulted in the dam currently generating 200 MW of electricity as opposed to 173 MW previously. The Solina dam is an important tourist attraction of the area. Tours are available and the dam serves as a bridge to the

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...

References

External links

{{commonscat-inline Energy infrastructure completed in 1968 Dams completed in 1969 Dams in Poland Lesko County Buildings and structures in Podkarpackie Voivodeship Pumped-storage hydroelectric power stations in Poland Hydroelectric power stations in Poland

History

The dam

See also

References

External links