The Solina Dam is the largest dam

Dam

A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...

 and hydroelectric plant in Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

. It is located in Lesko County

Lesko County

Lesko County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Subcarpathian Voivodeship, south-eastern Poland, on the Slovak border. It was created in 2002 out of five gminas which previously made up the western part of Bieszczady County...

 in the Bieszczady Mountains

Bieszczady Mountains

Bieszczady is the Polish name for a mountain range in the extreme south-east of Poland, extending into Ukraine and Slovakia...

 area of south-eastern Poland.

History

The San river

San River

The San is a river in southeastern Poland and western Ukraine, a tributary of the Vistula River, with a length of 433 km and a basin area of 16,861 km2...

 which runs through the area has a large flood plain and a series of floods prompted the consideration of a dam to regulate the water flow. The first plans for a dam in the region came in 1921 and called for a small dam in Myczkowce

Myczkowce

Myczkowce is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Solina, within Lesko County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland. It lies approximately north-west of Solina, south-east of Lesko, and south-east of the regional capital Rzeszów....

. The project was slow to begin and with the start of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 it was put on hold. After the war ended the plans were revised and now included a larger dam in Solina. Various work began in 1953 and the smaller Myczkowce dam, which would become a supporting dam, was completed in the years 1956-1960. In 1960 work began based on a design by Feliks Niczke of Energoprojekt Warszawa. The construction was completed in 1969 and cost 1.5 billion of 1969 zlotys. 57 km (35 mi) of roads were also constructed as part of the project.

The dam

The dam is 664 m (2,178 ft) long, 12 m (39 ft) across, and 82 m (269 ft) high. Its construction created the largest artificial lake in Poland - Lake Solina. It has four turbines which were initially capable of generating 136 MW of electricity. Two of the turbines can also reverse flow to optimize power generation. Starting in 1995 efforts have been made to modernize the power plant. The installation of new technologies and the replacement of the old turbines resulted in the dam currently generating 200 MW of electricity.

The Solina dam is an important tourist attraction of the area. Tours are available and the dam serves as a bridge to the Lake Solina marina

Marina

A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....

.