Ticha Reservoir ( bg, язовир Тича, ''yazovir Ticha'') is a reservoir in
Varbitsa Municipality
Varbitsa Municipality ( bg, Община Върбица) is a municipality ('' obshtina'') in Shumen Province, Northeastern Bulgaria, located in the vicinity of the northern slopes of the Eastern Stara planina mountain to the area of the so-cal ...
,
Shumen Province, northeastern
Bulgaria, located to the north and northeast of the town of
Varbitsa. It is one of the largest lakes of Bulgaria. The Ticha Dam is located in the northeastern part of the reservoir, in the southeastern part of
Kotel Mountain.
The reservoir lies along the Golyama Kamchia River, one of the two rivers that merge to form the
Kamchia.
Before entering the reservoir, the river gathers waters from the hilly
Gerlovo
Gerlovo or Gerilovo ( bg, Герлово or Герилово), is a small geographic and ethnographic region in Northern Bulgaria, a hilly fertile valley in the northeastern Balkan Mountains, south of the Ludogorie region. It lies between the L ...
region.
The name of the reservoir is derived from the medieval name of the Kamchia: the Ticha.
According to some measurements, it is the third-largest reservoir in Bulgaria.
By design, the Ticha Reservoir is used mainly for
irrigation;
the total area which the reservoir can irrigate is .
The Ticha Reservoir's total volume amounts to .
The construction of the reservoir meant that two villages, Vinitsa and Staroselka, were depopulated and flooded; their commons now lie within the reservoir.
The dam overflowed in July 2005 and July 2010, threatening the surrounding villages and land. Due to this, the water level of the reservoir is closely monitored and
dyke
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, ...
s have been built.
Unlike the 2005 flood, which caused significant damage in the village of
Byal Bryag, the 2010 overflow did not lead to floods in the neighbouring populated places.
In February 2010, the
tap water in
Shumen
Shumen ( bg, Шумен, also romanized as ''Shoumen'' or ''Šumen'', ) is the tenth largest city in Bulgaria and the administrative and economic capital of Shumen Province.
Etymology
The city was first mentioned as ''Šimeonis'' in 1153 by t ...
, which comes from the Ticha Reservoir, was declared unsuitable for drinking as a result of the presence of ''
E. coli
''Escherichia coli'' (),Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. also known as ''E. coli'' (), is a Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus ''Escher ...
'' strains.
References
{{Varbitsa
Reservoirs in Bulgaria
Landforms of Shumen Province