09 Feb 2024

The plain of Serres is lowland and marshes. Before the dam was built in 1932 there were floodings every year. The regular capacity of the river is 1500 cubic metres per hour, during the thaw of snow in springtime the capacity rises to 4-5000 cubic metres. The consequence of the ever returning floodings was Malaria. The situation escalated during World War I when in the Ottoman Empire the persecution of Greek people began together with massacres, deportations and death marches into camps. The persecution culminated in the expulsion and resettlement of about 1.5 millions of Greek survivors. About 100.000 of these settled in the lowlands of Serres, 15.000 of them died of Malaria over the first years. So in 1932 the river Strimonas was diverted, the lake was dug out and the dam and embankments were built. (In 1982 these were made higher once more).

The purpose of the lake is to avoid floods and to facilitate the irrigation of the plain of Serres for agricultural purposes. The water surface fluctuates between 4000 and 7000 hectares, the depth of the water between 30-35 m. Due to the geographical location a mild micro climate prevails. There are huge areas of shallow water to the east so the water is relatively warm and rich with nutrients which leads to the fish starting to spawn very early in the middle of February.