As Ogosta Reservoir Levels Fall, Submerged Villages Resurface

Filip Pavlov, BTA correspondent Tsvetomir Tsvetkov

Church of the village of Zhivovtsi appearing out of Ogosta Reservoir near Montana (BTA Photo/Tsvetomir Tsvetkov)

Montana, Northwestern Bulgaria,

21.01.2025 16:10

(BTA)

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LOCAL FOCUS

The water level of the Ogosta Reservoir, the second largest artificial lake in Bulgaria, has been dropping by two centimetres per day, Montana Regional Governor Kalin Haitov told BTA on Sunday. And as the reservoir is drying up, remains of villages that were once submerged by it, emerge from the water.

The receding water has allowed rarely seen islands to appear in the middle of the reservoir. Many water-loving migratory birds have settled on these islands to spend the winter at Ogosta. Large strips of land have appeared along the coasts as well, with local people and guests from other parts of Bulgaria parking their caravans and homemade shelters to spend the winter on the banks of the reservoir and enjoy fishing, hiking and outdoor picnics, despite the sub-zero temperatures in January.

Poles from a former power grid of the village of Zhivovtsi have also started to appear out of the reservoir. The village has been flooded and been underwater since the reservoir's construction 40 years ago, as is the case with the neighbouring village of Kalimanitsa, birthplace of Bulgarian literary classic Yordan Radichkov. The church of the village of Zhivovtsi and the chapel in front of it are also on dry land, which allows people to visit them, although they are largely destroyed from the long stay underwater.

The church was built in 1858 and an underground school dates back to 1850.

The residents of Zhivovtsi started leaving the village more than 100 years later, in 1968, as the plans to build a reservoir were revealed. The village was completely abandoned in the 1980s. Most of the villagers demolished their houses with their own hands to take the materials and use them to build their new homes in Montana, Berkovitsa and some other nearby villages. Today, more than 350 former homes lie permanently underwater beneath the reservoir.

The Ogosta Reservoir is the second largest artificial lake in Bulgaria (after the Iskar reservoir) with a maximum possible volume of 506 million cubic metres of water, which currently stands at only 164.2 million cubic metres of water. Haitov however noted that there is nothing to worry about, as there is still enough water to be released into the Ogosta River. He stated that even if it rains continuously for three months in the spring, it will not create a flood hazard, as the reservoir would absorb and hold the water.

Ogosta fulfills its role as an annual leveler, collecting rainwater from the slopes of Stara Planina and retaining it, before gradually releasing the water into the Ogosta River without creating any dangers of flooding. During the torrential and prolonged rains in the spring of 2023, the volume of the Ogosta Reservoir reached 466 million cubic metres of water. Due to the hot and dry summer of 2024 and the low rainfall in the autumn and winter months afterwards, the level of the reservoir remains low at the moment.

/MY/