The Teufelsteich was one of the oldest reservoirs in the Harz Mountains of central Germany.

It was built in 1697 near Harzgerode

Harzgerode

Harzgerode is a town in the district of Harz in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.-Geography:Its localities include:*Harzgerode*Alexisbad*Dankerode*Güntersberge*Königerode*Mägdesprung*Neudorf*Schielo*Silberhütte*Siptenfelde*Straßberg...

 and Quedlinburg

Quedlinburg

Quedlinburg is a town located north of the Harz mountains, in the district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. In 1994 the medieval court and the old town was set on the UNESCO world heritage list....

 (in the present state of Saxony-Anhalt

Saxony-Anhalt

Saxony-Anhalt is a landlocked state of Germany. Its capital is Magdeburg and it is surrounded by the German states of Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia.Saxony-Anhalt covers an area of...

) for mining purposes. In 1837/38 it was raised to support silver mining.

The Teufelsteich was first linked to the Lower Harz Pond and Ditch System

Lower Harz Pond and Ditch System

Within the Lower Harz region are still many traces of the historical water management facilities used by the mining industry. In addition to water-carrying ditches and ponds, there are also long-abandoned ditches and dry pond beds...

 in 1903/04. The Kochsgraben was extended for the last time and it now ended in the catchment area of the Teufelsteich, the Siebengrund bottom. This extension was called the Siebengründer Graben

Siebengründer Graben

The Siebengründer Graben is a mining ditch that was constructed in 1903/1904 in the Lower Harz in central Germany. Today, it is dry.- History :The Kochsgraben was completed in 1724...

; at the same time the section to Neudorf was drained dry. The Teufelsteich was now supplied with water from the Lude stream

Lude (stream)

The Lude is a roughly three kilometre long stream in the Harz Mountains of central Germany.- Course :The Lude rises northwest of Stolberg, about one kilometre west of Breitenstein. Only about 400 metres separates the southern source stream of the Katzsohlbach from the sources of the Lude and about...

 and the Rödelbachgraben

Rödelbachgraben

The Rödelbachgraben, usually called the Rödelbach and also incorrectly referred to as the Rieschengraben, is a water channel that was dug for mining purposes and is the oldest fully functioning part of the Lower Harz Pond and Ditch System in the Harz Mountains of Germany...

 along with the nearby mining ponds of the Fürstenteich

Fürstenteich

The Fürstenteich is a reservoir near Silberhütte in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It has an earth-filled dam with an impervious core. It impounds the Teufelsgrundbach stream.- Construction :...

 and the Silberhütter Pochwerksteich.

In 1947 the pond was used for the first time to supply drinking water. In 1985 the embankment had to be completely replaced. To do this a new dam was built 30 m below the old one and the old dam removed.

The new, higher dam consists of a shale body with a clay core in the centre. The retaining capacity of the new dam is around 203,000 m³ greater. The reservoir now has new facilities such as a spillway

Spillway

A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of flows from a dam or levee into a downstream area, typically being the river that was dammed. In the UK they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways release floods so that the water does not overtop and damage or even destroy...

, a bottom outlet, a glory hole spillway (Entnahmeturm) with service jetty, a valve house and a pump station.
The impounded stream is the Teufelsgrundbach.

Sources

• Talsperren in Sachsen-Anhalt, Autorenkollegium, Hrsg.: Talsperrenmeisterei des Landes Sachsen-Anhalt, 1994