The Bitburg Reservoir () is a

flood retention basin A retention basin, sometimes called a retention pond, wet detention basin, or storm water management pond (SWMP), is an artificial pond with vegetation around the perimeter and a permanent pool of water in its design. It is used to manage st ...

on the

River Prüm A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

in Biersdorf am See and Wiersdorf in the

Eifel The Eifel (; , ) is a low mountain range in western Germany, eastern Belgium and northern Luxembourg. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the southern area of the German-speaking Com ...

mountains of Germany. It is about 12 kilometres northwest of the town of

Bitburg Bitburg (; ; ) is a city in Germany, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate approximately 25 km (16 mi.) northwest of Trier and 50 km (31 mi.) northeast of Luxembourg (city), Luxembourg city. The American Spangdahlem Air Base i ...

and not far from the city of

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

in the state of

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

. The

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, aqua ...

, a 15-metre-high earth dam, was built by the ''Zweckverband Stausee Bitburg'' for

flood protection Flood management or flood control are methods used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters. Flooding can be caused by a mix of both natural processes, such as extreme weather upstream, and human changes to waterbodies and ru ...

at a spot where the narrow and deeply incised valley of the Prüm opened into a valley bowl, that used to be constantly in danger of flooding. The roughly 2-kilometre-long and up to nine-metre-deep

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

allows the regulation of

low water Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravity, gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide ...

levels, enables the generation of electricity, and offers a place of recreation, making it a popular destination and tourist centre in the South Eifel. Around the lake there is a five-kilometre-long circular path and many other good hiking trails, some of which are lit at night. The hiking network of the German-Luxembourg Nature Park starts here. Sporting and recreational activities include rowing, paddling, surfing, pedaloes, inline skating, mountain biking, badminton, cycling and fishing (for trout). in the middle of the lake is a large fountain.

Gallery

StauseeBitburg02.JPG, View of the dam from the lake StauseeBitburg10.JPG, Inflow of the Prüm StauseeBitburg03.JPG, Outflow of the Prüm StauseeBitburg04.JPG, Boat hire Bitburg Stausee.jpg, Gastronomy by the lakeshore near Biersdorf Biersdorf am See (Stausee Bitburg) 01.jpg, View of the hotels on the northern shore

See also

Gallery

External links