Rakaca Reservoir

The Rakaca Reservoir (Rakacai Lake) lies in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County, between the villages of Meszes, Martonyi and Szalonna, covering an area of nearly 200 hectares. The artificial lake was created by damming the Rakaca stream. At the time of its creation, the Rakaca Reservoir was the largest artificial lake in the country. The 3‑kilometre‑long lake has a catchment area of 250 square kilometres, a water surface of almost 190 hectares, and can hold about 5.5 million cubic metres of water. Its average depth is 4–6 metres, reaching up to 10 metres in its deeper parts. The reservoir has a solid bottom, covered in places by a thin layer of silt. The artificial lake, formed with a valley‑closing dam, supplies the Bódva River with a constant water volume even during drought‑prone summer periods. Its southern shore offers a picturesque view, as it is directly adjacent to a forest. The lake is very popular as a recreational area, holiday resorts have been built around the reservoir, and it has become one of the region’s important and populous holiday destinations.

Construction

In the mid‑1950s, planning and phased construction of the Borsod Water Supply System began to meet the growing water needs of the Borsod industrial region as well as Ózd and Kazincbarcika. As a result of geological and structural investigations, the site of the reservoir was selected in the autumn of 1957 on the turtle‑shaped section of the Rakaca stream valley between Meszes and Szalonna. In 1958, construction began on an 850‑metre‑long, 8‑metre‑high valley‑closing dam, which was made of about 135,000 cubic metres of clay.

The dam is vertically built, a sandy gravel seepage separates it, preventing the upstream side from becoming wet. The dam crest width is 4.3 metres, with an asphalted road on it. The discharge capacity regulated by a sluice is 10 cubic metres per second, and in case of floods it automatically diverts 40 cubic metres, using a tower-like siphon. The flood‑control siphons operate automatically, diverting flood water with a 30‑centimetre water level fluctuation, which also serves the flood protection of the settlement of Meszes. In case of larger floods or siphon failure, the water is discharged through a 30‑metre long bent emergency spillway to the area below the dam.

Settlements

The villages in the immediate catchment area of the reservoir: Martonyi, Meszes and Szalonna.

Flora and fauna

The water of Rakaca Lake has a beneficial effect on both plant and aquatic life. The area is covered by hardwood forests, meadows and reed beds. Various macrophytes are common in the water, while swamp species also appear in the shallower parts. The most characteristic plants include water lily species, large spiny rush and the creeping grapevine.

The reservoir’s reeds and rushes provide nesting sites for numerous bird species. In large numbers breed here, for example, the reed warbler and the little reed warbler, and among the reed dwellers are the little grebe, the reed bunting and the brown meadow pipit. Among the dense vegetation many smaller reed songbirds can also be found, such as the reed warbler, the spotted and the crested reed warbler, the reed bunting and the reed grasshopper warbler.

Fishing, fish stock

The reservoir has a significant population of the following fish species: carp, amur, pikeperch, pike, catfish, balin, crucian carp, various roach, crucian carp. No dwarf catfish. The following record catches have been recorded on the lake: bream – 68 kg, carp – 19 kg, pikeperch – 12 kg, tench – 5.02 kg.