Studena Reservoir, reservoir in Bulgaria

Studena Reservoir lies on the upper course of the Struma in the western Vitosha foothills, within the lands of Studena, Kladnitsa and Bosnek in Pernik Municipality. Its concrete gravity dam, 53 m high and 268 m long along the crest, has a buttressed design and a spillway with three openings 22.8 m wide in total. The reservoir holds up to 25.2 million m³ and also receives water diverted from the Iskar basin by the Vladaya and Palakaria canals.

Studena Reservoir was built on the sites of the villages Vitoshko and Krapets, which were struck from the registers in 1953, and it entered service on 5 December 1953. Soon after, a collapse blocked the lower gate of the intake tower; it was cleared in the mid-1960s, and the repair applied underwater welding in Bulgaria for the first time. In 1957 the Republika hydroelectric plant on the derivation canal began operating with one 200 kW turbine, later stopped. In 1992 the spillway was raised to increase storage.

The reservoir lies in the western part of Vitosha, in the lands of Studena, Kladnitsa and Bosnek, 23 km southwest of Sofia. It is a guarded drinking-water supply for Pernik, so fishing and access to the water are not allowed. The dam is a concrete gravity wall 53 m high and 268 m long along its crest.

The reservoir was built over the villages of Vitoshko and Krapets, which were officially dissolved in 1953. Shortly after construction, a landslide blocked the lower gate of the intake tower; when the gate was repaired in the mid-1960s, underwater welding was used in Bulgaria for the first time.