Reservoirs of Russia: list, description, economic importance

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:46

Reservoirs are reservoirs created by human hands with the help of dams in the river valley, which serve to collect and retain water masses. More than 1,200 such structures have been built in our country. These data take into account only large reservoirs in Russia.

Reservoir characteristics

There are two types of structures. The first includes lake reservoirs, which differ in the way water is accumulated. The current in them is created exclusively by the wind. Reservoirs on the rivers belong to the second group. They have an elongated shape and a constant flow. The main parameters of reservoirs: volume, surface area and level fluctuation during the year.

The organization of a new reservoir entails a change in the appearance of the river valley and its hydro regime in the backwater zone. The created dam has the greatest impact on the adjacent part of the reservoir. However, it is possible to see the changes even at a distance of many kilometers.

All reservoirs in Russia have been prepared for flooding. Forests that fall into the designated flood zone are removed, freeing the banks. Residents of villages within the boundaries of the future reservoir are relocated, and the buildings themselves are dismantled. A lot of work is being donehydrobiologists and ichthyologists preparing to restore fish populations.

The country's largest reservoirs: Bratsk, Krasnoyarsk and Kuibyshev.

The role of reservoirs

The organization of the reservoir entails a number of negative consequences. The decrease in flood leads to the disappearance of spawning grounds for fish. Water meadows do not receive nutrients, which causes vegetation to suffer. The river is slowing down, leading to increased silt formation.

The largest reservoirs in Russia are such on a global scale. The peak of construction fell on the period from 1950 to 2000. They were built for the following purposes.

• Getting electricity. The cheapest way to generate.
• Irrigate fields and create recreational areas in water scarce areas.
• Fish farming.
• Water intake for the needs of the city.
• Shipping. With their help, flat rivers become suitable for the movement of ships.
• Rafting has become easier in some areas.
• Fighting floods in the Far East region.

The territory of the Russian Federation is unevenly strewn with grandiose structures. There are an order of magnitude more of them in the European part than in the Asian. There are 13 of them in the basin of the Volga alone.

Gorkovskoe

Gorkovskoe reservoir was chosen by lovers of fishing. Its tailwater is located in the Nizhny Novgorod region. In the area of the dam, its width reaches 12 km, and its depth is 22 m. The hydro regime and composition of the reservoir are ideal for fish populations. In places of flooded peat deposits in winter, dead events occur. There is practically no current in the area of the hydroelectric power station. Significant for aquatic fauna are waves and wind currents.

In winter, the water level drops by 2 m. Shallow waters are drained, causing freezing, freezing of the soil. Coastal plants suffer from this. In the spring, the reservoir is filled with meltwater. The level at this time fluctuates within 40 cm, but this is enough to disrupt the spawning of fish that need aquatic vegetation.

In November, freezing begins. In winter, a crust is formed up to a meter thick. According to the hydro regime, the Gorky reservoir looks like a lake with a weak current. In the mid-1950s, huge areas of fertile lands located in the floodplain went under water. There was an outbreak of growth in the number of many aquatic animals, which received new spawning and feeding places. After a few years, populations of fish and other organisms began to decline.

Argazinskoye

Argazinskoye reservoir is the largest reservoir in the Chelyabinsk region. Its length is 22 km, and its width exceeds 11 km. The deepest point is at a level of 18 m. The transparency of the water depends on weather conditions and is 3-8 m. The lake reservoir has over 45 skeletons, among which there is a natural monument with broad-leaved groves.

Argazi is located in the spurs of the Ilmen mountains. The reservoir was created in 1942 by installing a dam on the river. Miass. It holds 980 million m3 of water at a height of only 1.5 m. A large number of juvenile fish, primarily whitefish and burbot, are released into the reservoir. Trophy specimens of fish weighing over 10 kg are periodically caught.

Argazinskoe reservoir - a source of water for Chelyabinsk. Festivals are held on its banks and residents of the city spend their leisure time.

Volkhovskoe

Volkhov reservoir was created in 1926 in the Leningrad region. Its width is 400 m and its surface area is 2 km². Built for Volkhovskaya HPP. The catchment area is over 80 thousand km2^{2. The reservoir has a lock for the passage of vessels with one chamber. The project was created by Lengydroproekt. The shores of the reservoir are rich in vegetation and are used by the townspeople for recreation.}

Boguchanskoe

The Boguchanskoe reservoir began to fill up in the fall of 1987 after the temporary channels in the dam through which the river flowed were closed. The design level of 208 m was reached in 2015. There is a reservoir in the Irkutsk region on the river. Angara. The main purpose of the construction is the generation of electrical energy. The facility regulates the flow depending on the season, trying to keep level differences within 1 m.

The mouths of many tributaries have turned into huge bays. Some of them are over 10 km long. Freeze lasts 7 months, which does not touch the downstream of the hydroelectric power station. In this area, a polynya will remain for tens of kilometers. When organizing a reservoir for floodinghit a lot of peat bogs. This fact affected the chemical composition of water. The construction of the reservoir affected the species composition of fish and catches. Rheophilic fish migrated, their catches decreased by 10 times.

Brotherly

The Bratsk reservoir is located in the Irkutsk region on the river. Angara. Its length is 570 km, and its width is 25 km. This reservoir heads the largest reservoirs in Russia. Its outlines are bizarre. Most of the tributaries became deeper, which allowed ships to enter them. In the vicinity of the reservoir, karst processes intensified, sinkholes and landslides began to appear.

Not all reservoirs in Russia have such a strong impact on the coast. Coasts are destroyed due to strong level drops. It reaches 6-10 m. The reservoir is of great fishing, shipping and timber-rafting importance. There are always many tourists and fishermen on its shores.

Krasnoyarsk

The Krasnoyarsk reservoir was called the fresh sea for its size. Its surface area is 2 thousand km2. The average depth reaches 40 m. Filling with water lasted three years after the construction of the dam. It is one of the largest reservoirs in the world. With it, the water level in the Yenisei is monitored. Vessels sail along this river and timber rafting is carried out.

Not all reservoirs in Russia are as rich in pike as Krasnoyarsk. The number of small fish here is small, because there is not enough food supply for it. She suffered as a result of the formation of the reservoir.

The construction of dams entailsmany consequences for nature and man. Man benefits from this in the form of cheap electricity, transport arteries and large water supplies. There is a gradual change in the species composition of fish. The ichthyofauna becomes less valuable, but more numerous. Large reservoirs can change the surrounding microclimate, making it softer.