Beli Iskar Reservoir, reservoir in Bulgaria
The Beli Iskar Reservoir is a small water storage in the Rila Mountains of western Bulgaria. It stretches for about 2,800 m (9,200 ft) in length with a width of roughly 550 m (1,800 ft) and is held back by a concrete gravity dam approximately 51 m (167 ft) tall.
The reservoir was constructed between 1935 and 1945 to collect and store water from the Beli Iskar River. Since its completion, it has served the region for water management and supplying drinking water to local communities and farms.
The reservoir takes its name from the Beli Iskar River, whose name means "white" and refers to its clear water. It supplies about 20% of Sofia's drinking water, and the water is disinfected only with chlorine. The dam was built in the locality of Kulata between the peaks Shishkovitsa and Kovach.
The reservoir is a drinking-water source for Sofia and is not open for recreation; the dam and its surroundings are not a visiting area. It lies at about 1,900 m on the southern foot of Musala in Rila, 75 km from Sofia, reached via the village of Beli Iskar. The dam crest stands at 1,878.85 m between the Shishkovitsa and Kovach peaks.
The dam is the first structure of its size in Bulgaria, using 216,000 m³ of concrete and 10,000 m³ of masonry. Its face is clad in 60 cm of granite to resist the repeated freezing and thawing of the water, and it stands on solid granite bedrock.
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