The Solina Dam () is a

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...

gravity dam A gravity dam is a dam constructed from concrete or stone masonry and designed to hold back water by using only the weight of the material and its resistance against the foundation. Gravity dams are designed so that each section of the dam is ...

in south-eastern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. It is the largest dam in the country. It is located in Solina of

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

in the

Bieszczady Mountains Bieszczady Mountains (; ; ; ) 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 the Eastern Beskids of the Outer Eastern Carpathians, Eastern B ...

area of Poland. With the completion of the dam in 1968,

Lake Solina Lake Solina () is an artificial lake in the Bieszczady Mountains region, in Lesko County of the Subcarpathian Voivodship, Poland. Created in 1968, it is Poland's largest artificial lake as well as a major tourist attraction of the region. The So ...

, the largest

artificial lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from t ...

in Poland, was created.

History

The

San river The San (; ''Sian''; ) is a river in southeastern Poland and western Ukraine. It is a tributary of the river Vistula. With a length of , the San is the 6th-longest Polish river. It has a basin area of 16,877 km2, of which 14,426 k ...

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

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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 Energoprojekt holding (full legal name: ''Energoprojekt holding a.d. Beograd'') is a Serbian construction company with headquarters in Belgrade, Serbia. Founded in 1951, it enters into the composition of BELEX15 and BELEXline, the two main indic ...

. The construction was completed in 1968 and cost 1.5 billion of 1968 zlotys. of roads were also constructed as part of the project.

The dam

The dam is long, wide at the crest, and high. An estimated 820,000 cubic meters of cement was used for the construction of the dam, which weighs 2 million tonnes. Its construction created the largest artificial lake in Poland –

. 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. A PSH system stores energy in the form of gravitational potent ...

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 : "related to the sea") 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 or cargo ...

References

External links

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

History

The dam

See also

References

External links