Krasnodar Reservoir - description, history and interesting facts. Kuban reservoir and small lake Artificial reservoir created by residents of Kuban
Compiled by
A. A. Karavaev.Geographical coordinates
Kuban Reservoir: 44°13’48’’N. latitude, 42°16’12’’ e. d.; lake Maloe: 44°15’17”N, 42°12’45’’E.Height
Kuban Reservoir: 620 m above sea level; lake Maloe: 610 m above sea level.Square
8,108 hectares, including water surface: 5,300 hectares; land: about 2,808 hectares, including forest belts about 22 hectares, farmland: about 2,786 hectares.a brief description of
A large reservoir in the foothills of the Caucasus, of regional importance for anseriformes during migration and wintering. The site includes open reaches of the lake and reservoir, shallow areas, reed beds on the lake. Malom, fish ponds, forest belts and agricultural fields. 168 species of birds have been registered in the area, 16 of which are included in the list of rare species of the Red Book Russian Federation. Of the waterfowl, the most numerous is the mallard. In the autumn period, the number of ducks in most cases is recorded in the amount of 3 to 6 thousand individuals, with a maximum of 36 thousand.Wetland type
O, 1, 3. Predominant: O (reservoir - 5,020 hectares, Lake Maloye - 220 hectares), 1 (fish ponds - 60 hectares).Ramsar Criteria
2, 5.Criterion 2: The site and adjacent territories support the existence of rare and vulnerable species: 16 species of birds listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation.
Criterion 5: During the autumn migration period, the site supports up to 36 thousand ducks at a time.
Location
The site is located in the foothill zone North Caucasus 10-21 km east of the city of Cherkessk near the village. Caucasian. Its border covers the Kuban Reservoir, Lake. Maloe, agricultural fields and fish ponds on the river. Sheep.Physiographic characteristics
The reservoirs are located in the foothills of the North Caucasus in the depression between the Sychevye Mountains and the Pastbishchny Range. These mountains here have gentle slopes and look more like large hills.Kuban Reservoir was created in 1968 on the site of the Big Batalpashinsky Lake, which was an oxbow lake left over from the ancient river bed. Kuban, once flowing in a northeast direction. Next to the reservoir on the western side there is a lake. Small. It is separated from the reservoir by a dam and a narrow (about 300 m) piece of land.
The reservoir and lake are located in a sublatitudinal zone of development of Paleogene and Neogene deposits. The Paleogene is represented by the upper section - the Oligocene, the Neogene - by the lower section - the Miocene. Lithologically, this sequence is represented by dark gray and brown clays of the Maikop series (Potapenko, 2004).
The soils in the vicinity of the considered reservoirs belong to micellar-carbonate Cis-Caucasian chernozems.
When fully filled, the maximum depth of the reservoir is 30 m, at the lowest level - 20 m. The total volume of the reservoir is 620 million m3, the useful volume is 487 million m3. The maximum level is observed in August-September, the minimum in April-May. At the same time, the difference in levels reaches 10 m in some years. The decrease in level occurs in the autumn- winter period. As a result, large areas of the bottom are exposed in the southwestern, shallowest part of the reservoir. Water enters the reservoir through the Great Stavropol Canal, which originates from the Ust-Dzhegutinsky Reservoir.
Thus, the reservoir is 96-98% filled with Kuban water. In summer, during the flood period, it receives muddy water, carrying a large amount of suspended solids. The value of the catchment area from the area surrounding the reservoir is small (groundwater and snow water, Presny Stream - 2-4%). Water temperature in the Kuban Reservoir. quite low, the annual average does not exceed 8°C. This is due to the fact that the reservoir is filled with cold Kuban water in summer. Water mineralization is very low and does not exceed 0.20 g/l. The water is of high quality and contains almost no pollutants.
The banks of the reservoir are predominantly low, with the exception of the eastern ones. There are small bays only in the eastern part of the reservoir. Large seasonal fluctuations in water levels, high turbidity and relatively low water temperatures during the summer flood period create unfavorable conditions for the growth of submerged and above-water vegetation. Therefore, almost along the entire length the banks are open with grassy low-growing coastal vegetation.
In the western part of the reservoir there is a large narrow island, stretching in the latitudinal direction for almost 800 m with a maximum width of about 100 m. At high levels, the island is gradually eroded. When the level is low, it connects to the reservoir dam, and foxes and other terrestrial predators penetrate it, which prevents the nesting of many aquatic and semi-aquatic birds.
Oz. Small is round-ovoid in shape, its area is about 220 hectares. The shores are flat, there is only a small bay in the western part of the lake. The lake is shallow, the maximum depth is about 5 m. The banks are low. Level fluctuations are insignificant (0.5 m) and are not seasonal. In the last year, for example, it has risen as a result of the increased flow of drainage water from the surrounding fields and the discharge of municipal wastewater from the treatment facilities of the village. Caucasian. The water in the lake is salty (10-15 g/l). Effluents containing organic matter and a lot of salts (chlorides, sulfates, phosphates, nitrites and nitrates) enter the lake.
West of the lake Small river Ovechka flows along a shallow ravine, which in some places is blocked by dams, where cyprinid fish (carp and silver carp) are bred in 6 ponds.
Climate. Kuban Reservoir area. characterized by a temperate climate. In the absence of high ridges here, air masses freely penetrate here, forming the climate of the flat part of the North Caucasus. Average monthly temperatures in the winter months are negative: December -1.8°, January -3.9°, February -3.3°C. The warmest months are July and August (average monthly temperatures are 21.0 and 20.6°C, respectively).
The reservoir is covered with ice at the end of December, and is cleared of it only at the end of March - beginning of April. But in warm winters, such as in 2003/04, it did not freeze completely. There were ice-free polynyas in the winter of 2004/05. According to climatologists (Budyko, 1980; Lurie P.M. et al., 2000), compared to the 80s of the last century, air temperatures should increase by about 2° by 2020 WITH. Moreover, winter temperatures will rise faster. This will contribute to an increase in the number of waterbirds in wintering grounds in the south of Russia, including in the reservoirs of the North Caucasus.
The area under consideration is characterized by frequent strong easterly winds. As a result, trees in forest belts tilt to the west.
The importance of the land in the natural water cycle
The drainage basin of the land under consideration is the river basin. Kuban, the main tributaries of which are located in the highlands of the North Caucasus. In the relief of the northern macroslope of the Caucasus, there are rows of parallel ridges, stretching in the direction from northwest to southeast and separated by intermountain depressions. The southernmost of them - the Main Caucasus Range, or Watershed - forms a mountain range, the peaks of which rise to 3,700-4,047 m above sea level. m. North of the Vodorazdelnyi Ridge is the Forward Ridge, which is not much lower. Most of its peaks have heights from 2,800 to 3,464 m above sea level. m.The most high peak Caucasus - Mount Elbrus (5,642 m). The slopes of the ridges are cut by deep river valleys, many of which originate from modern glaciers. North of the Peredovoye is the Rocky Ridge, which has the shape of a cuesta. Between them stretches a wide strip of the North Jurassic depression with relatively soft relief forms developed on sandy-clayey strata of Early Jurassic and Middle Jurassic age. The southern slope of the Skalisty Range is steep and steep, in some areas the height of the steep cliffs exceeds 100 m. The northern slope is gentle. Rivers flowing in the meridional direction cut the ridge into separate sections, the peaks of which have heights ranging from 1313-2644 m above sea level. m. Even further north is the Pasture Ridge, which also has the shape of a cuesta, but with gentler slopes rising from the base to 200-300 m. The peaks of the Pasture Range rise to 1212-1535 m above sea level. m.
The Advanced, Skalisty and Pastbishchny ridges in the meridional direction cut the valleys of the rivers: Kuban, Aksaut, Marukha, Bolshoi Zelenchuk, Kyafar, Bolshaya Laba, etc.
The main ridge is composed of Precambrian ancient rocks - granites and gneisses. The advanced ridge is formed by hard metamorphic rocks of predominantly Paleozoic development. The rocky ridge is composed of Upper Jurassic limestones (Potapenko, 2004).
Most of the rivers in the Upper Kuban basin are glacially fed in summer season, which is intensified by heavy rains. Therefore, they are most abundant in summer. Flood is observed on them in May - August, especially high water is typical for July. In winter, rivers are predominantly ground-fed. The lowest water content is observed in December - January. Seasonal fluctuations in water content reach 14-15 times. Water mineralization is very low - from 0.02 to 0.190 g/l. The ionic composition is dominated by CO32-, SO42-, Ca2+. Ph does not exceed 7.
Distinctive features of a temperate continental mountain climate, characteristic of most of the territory of the upper Kuban basin, are low atmospheric pressure, significant daily amplitude of air temperature fluctuations, slight cloudiness, the predominance of clear days, increased solar radiation, weak winds, relatively warm winters and relatively cool summer(Krokhmal et al., 1997).
Kuban Reservoir is of great importance for the water supply of the Kursavsky cascade of the Kuban-Kalaus watering and irrigation system. Thanks to it, the existence of many lakes and reservoirs in the Stavropol Territory is maintained, including such large ones as the Proletarskoye and Chograiskoye reservoirs, lake. Lysy estuary and lake. Manych, which are of great importance for the protection and reproduction of waterfowl.
Environmental parameters
The reservoir and lake are located in the forest-steppe zone of the northern slope of the Caucasus. Previously, the vegetation in the vicinity of reservoirs was represented by oak forests of oak, ash, elm, and in the steppe areas by associations of bromegrass, wheatgrass, bearded grass, fescue, feather grass with an admixture of forbs. Currently, steppe vegetation has been preserved only on the steep slopes of the Sychev Mountains. The oak groves have been completely destroyed. The gentle slopes are plowed and between the fields there are forest belts consisting of oak, ash, maple, elm, poplar, acacia, and apricot. The forest belts in the site occupy about 22 hectares. Around the lake The small fields come close to the banks on almost all sides (in some places up to 30-50 m). Wheat, sunflower, corn, peas, and beets are grown on them. The fields in the area occupy about 2786 hectares. After harvesting, gulls, lapwings, and raptors regularly feed on rodents and insects in the fields, and scorches, mallards, rooks, larks, finches and other passerine birds feed on the remaining seeds and grass seedlings. Gray herons often spend the day in the fields near the lake.The vast shallow area in the southwestern region of the Kuban Reservoir is of greatest importance for waterfowl. At the beginning of summer, when the water level is low, it is overgrown with mainly cereal vegetation, and by autumn it is completely flooded. It is here that the bulk of migratory and wintering aquatic and semi-aquatic birds are concentrated. Already in October, the water level in the reservoir noticeably decreases, and extensive open shallows appear here, convenient for ducks to roost.
During the migratory period, grebes, loons, diving ducks stay on the reach of the reservoir, and seagulls are regularly observed.
The island, covered with motley grass meadow vegetation, remains connected to the reservoir dam in the first half of the summer. That's why foxes come here. This is the main reason for the absence of colonies of gulls and other waterbirds on it. Only mallards nest here in small numbers.
Due to large seasonal fluctuations in level and the lack of developed above-water vegetation, the reservoir does not have habitats favorable for nesting of most aquatic and semi-aquatic birds.
In the coastal zone of the lake. Small forb vegetation in moist areas is replaced by thickets of reeds and sedges. Reeds are developed along the eastern, northern and western shores of the lake, where they form border thickets 10-30 m wide. In some places they reach the shore. Aquatic submerged vegetation is extremely poor; pondweed, urut, and cladophora are rare. Coots, swans and some ducks feed on them. Ducks fly to the lake at night to feed, spending the day on the reservoir. Nesting in the reed thickets has been recorded for small, great and gray-cheeked grebes, coots, marsh harriers, and several species of warblers.
On the western side of the lake. Maly there are small swampy areas formed as a result of the discharge of water from the lake here. In some years, mallards, moorhens, and stilts nest here.
Fish ponds on the river. The Sheep River has mostly bare banks, which is associated with large fluctuations in water levels. Only the two southern ponds have significant areas of reed thickets where grebes, moorhens and coots nest.
Valuable flora
The land areas are completely plowed, and the steppe vegetation is practically not preserved. Forest vegetation is represented only by shelterbelts. No special work was carried out to study vegetation.Valuable fauna
19 species of fish have been recorded in the area. The most numerous of them are silver crucian carp, carp (carp), common pike perch, and perch. Many species of fish have been introduced into the reservoir, including such valuable ones as grass carp, Azov-Black Sea shemaya, silver carp, bighead carp, and common pike perch.Among the amphibians recorded are the common newt, green toad, gray toad, common tree frog, lake frog, and Asia Minor frog.
Among the reptiles noted here are the marsh turtle, sand lizard, common grass snake, and water snake.
The bird fauna recorded in the site and in adjacent territories includes 168 species. It includes 1 species each of loons, pelicans, cuckooformes, swifts, hoopiformes, woodpeckers, 2 species of galliformes, owliformes, coraciiformes, 3 species of pigeons, 5 species of grebes and craneiformes, 8 species of storkiformes, 21 species of anseriformes, 23 species of falconiformes, 31 species of Charadriiformes and 60 species of Passeriformes. Birds of the wetland complex make up 78.6% of the avifauna.
The site is of greatest importance for migrating and wintering birds. In the autumn period, the number of ducks in most cases is recorded in the amount of 3 to 6 thousand, with a maximum of 36 thousand. The most numerous is the mallard. When water bodies are not completely frozen, significant numbers of waterfowl remain for the winter (Karavaev, Khubiev, 2005). With projected further climate warming, the importance of the site as a refugium for wintering waterfowl will increase. In summer, there are few aquatic and semi-aquatic birds.
16 species of rare birds listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation are noted in the site: black-throated loon, ibis, little swan, osprey, steppe harrier, European tuvik, long-legged buzzard, steppe eagle, greater spotted eagle, lesser spotted eagle, imperial eagle, white-tailed eagle, peregrine falcon, Stilt, Oystercatcher, Black-headed Gull.
Muskrats have been spotted in fish ponds.
| 1 | Trout | Salmo trutta morpha fario |
| 2 | Common roach | Rutilus rutilus |
| 3 | Caucasian chub | Leuciscus cehpalus orientalis |
| 4 | Rudd | Scardinius erythrophthalmus |
| 5 | White amur | Ctenopharyngodon idella |
| 6 | Caucasian Verkhovka | Leucaspius delineatus |
| 7 | North Caucasian long-whiskered gudgeon | Gobio ciscaucasicus |
| 8 | Azov-Black Sea Shemaya | Chalcalburnus chalcoides |
| 9 | Front Caucasian bleak | Alburnus charusini |
| 10 | Gustera | Blicca bjoerkna |
| 11 | Rybets | Vimbra vimbra |
| 12 | Goldfish | Carassius auratus |
| 13 | Carp (carp) | Cyprinus carpio |
| 14 | Silver carp | Hypophthalmichthys molitrix |
| 15 | Bighead carp | Aristhichthys nobilis |
| 16 | Common zander | Lucioperca lucioperca |
| 17 | Perch | Perca fluviatilis |
| 18 | Needlefish | Syngnathus nigrolineatus |
| № | Kinds | Status of stay, abundance |
|---|---|---|
| Order Loon - GAVIIFORMES | ||
| 1 | Black-throated loon - Gavia arctica (L.) | Pr, + |
| Order GREBE-FORMES - PODICIPEDIFORMES | ||
| 2 | Little grebe - Podiceps ruficollis (Pall.) | Pr, +++; Gn + |
| 3 | Red-necked grebe - Podiceps auritus (L.) | Pr, + |
| 4 | Black-necked grebe - Podiceps nigricollis C. L. Brehm | Pr, +++ |
| 5 | Gray-cheeked grebe - Podiceps grisegena (Bodd.) | Pr, +; Gn + |
| 6 | Great grebe - Podiceps cristatus (L.) | Pr, +++; Gn + |
| Order Copepods - PELECANIFORMES | ||
| 7 | Great cormorant - Phalacrocorax carbo (L.) | Pr, + |
| Order STORKIFORMES - CICONIIFORMES | ||
| 8 | Great bittern - Botaurus stellaris (L.) | Pr, + |
| 9 | Little bittern - Ixobrychus minutus (L.) | Pr, +++; |
| 10 | Night heron - Nycticorax nycticorax (L.) | Pr, + |
| 11 | Great white egret - Egretta alba (L.) | Pr, ++ |
| 12 | Little egret - Egretta garzetta (L.) | Pr, + |
| 13 | Gray Heron - Ardea cinerea L. | Pr, +++ |
| 14 | Red-headed heron - Ardea purpurea L. | Pr, ++ |
| 15 | Loaf – Plegadis falcinellus (L.) | Evil, + |
| Order Anseriformes - ANSERIFORMES | ||
| 16 | Gray Goose - Anser anser (L.) | Pr, + |
| 17 | White-fronted goose - Anser albifrons (Scop.) | Pr, + |
| 18 | Mute swan - Cygnus olor (Gm.) | Pr, Z, + |
| 19 | Whooper swan - Cygnus cygnus (L.) | Pr, Z, + |
| 20 | Little swan - Cygnus bewickii Yarrell | Evil, + |
| 21 | Burnt fire - Tadorna ferruginea (Pall.) | Gn, Pr, Z, +++ |
| 22 | Shelduck - Tadorna tadorna (L.) | Pr, + |
| 23 | Mallard - Anas platyrhynchos L. | Gn++; Pr, W ++++ |
| 24 | Teal - Anas crecca L. | Pr, Z, +++ |
| 25 | Gray duck - Anas strepera L. | Pr, + |
| 26 | Wigeon - Anas penelope L. | Pr, ++ |
| 27 | Pintail - Anas acuta L. | Pr, +++ |
| 28 | Teal - Anas querquedula L. | Pr, ++++ |
| 29 | Shoveler - Anas clypeata L. | Pr, ++ |
| 30 | Red-nosed Pochard - Netta rufina (Pall.) | Pr, W + |
| 31 | Red-headed duck - Aythya ferina (L.) | Pr, ++ |
| 32 | Tufted duck - Aythya fuligula (L.) | Pr, Z, ++ |
| 33 | Sea duck - Aythya marila (L.) | Pr, + |
| 34 | Common goldeneye - Bucephala clangula (L.) | Pr, Z, + |
| 35 | Lutok - Mergus albellus L. | Pr, Z, + |
| 36 | Greater merganser - Mergus merganser L. | Pr, + |
| Order FALCONIFORMES | ||
| 37 | Common honey buzzard - Pernis apivorus (L.) | Pr, +++ |
| 38 | Black kite - Milvus migrans (Bodd.) | Pr,+++ |
| 39 | Harrier - Circus cyaneus (L.) | Pr, ++; Z + |
| 40 | Steppe Harrier - Circus macrourus (S. G. Gmelin | Pr, + |
| 41 | Meadow Harrier - Circus pygargus (L.) | Pr, + |
| 42 | Marsh Harrier - Circus aeruginosus (L.) | Pr, +++ |
| 43 | Goshawk - Accipiter gentilis (L.) | Pr, Z, ++ |
| 44 | Sparrowhawk - Accipiter nisus (L.) | Pr, +++ |
| 45 | European tuvik - Accipiter brevipes (Severtzov) | Pr, + |
| 46 | Buzzard - Buteo lagopus (Pont.) | Z, ++ |
| 47 | Buzzard - Buteo rufinus (Cretzschmar) | Z, ++ |
| 48 | Common buzzard - Buteo buteo (L.) | Gn, +++ Pr, ++++ |
| 49 | Steppe eagle - Aquila rapax (Temm.) | Pr, + |
| 50 | Lesser Spotted Eagle - Aquila pomarina C. L. Brehm | Pr, K, + |
| 51 | Greater Spotted Eagle - Aquila clanga Pall. | Pr + |
| 52 | Burying ground – Aquila heliaca Savigny | Pr, K, + |
| 53 | White-tailed eagle - Haliaeetus albicilla (L.) | Pr, Z, + |
| 54 | Griffon Vulture - Gyps fulvus (Hablizl) | K, + |
| 55 | Black vulture - Aegypius monachus (L.) | K, + |
| 56 | Peregrine falcon - Falco peregrinus Tunstall | Pr, Z, + |
| 57 | Hobby - Falco subbuteo L. | Gn, Pr, ++ |
| 58 | Merlin - Falco columbarius L. | Pr, Z, + |
| 59 | Common kestrel - Falco tinnunculus L. | Pr, ++ |
| Order Galliformes - GALLIFORMES | ||
| 60 | Gray partridge - Perdixperdix (L.) | Gn, Z, ++ |
| 61 | Quail - Coturnix coturnix (L.) | Gn, Pr, +++ |
| Order CRANES - GRUIFORMES | ||
| 62 | Rail - Rallus aquaticus L. | Pr, ++ |
| 63 | Crake - Porzana porzana (L.) | Pr, ++ |
| 64 | Crake - Crex crex (L.) | Gn, Pr, + |
| 65 | Moorhen - Gallinula chloropus (L.) | Gn, +; Pr, ++ |
| 66 | Coot - Fulica atra L. | Gn +; Pr ++++ |
| Order Charadriiformes - CHARADRIIFORMES | ||
| 67 | Rivetweed - Charadrius hiaticula L. | Pr, ++ |
| 68 | Lesser plover - Charadrius dubius Scop. | Gn, Pr, ++ |
| 69 | Lapwing - Vanellus vanellus (L.) | Gn++; Pr, +++ |
| 70 | Stilt - Himantopus himantopus (L.) | Gn +; |
| 71 | Oystercatcher - Haematopus ostralegus L. | Pr++ |
| 72 | Blackling - Tringa ochropus L. | Pr, +++ |
| 73 | Fifi - Tringa glareola L. | Pr, +++ |
| 74 | Large snail - Tringa nebularia (Gun.) | Pr, ++ |
| 75 | Herbalist - Tringa totanus (L.) | Pr, ++ |
| 76 | Goldfinch - Tringa erythropus (Pall.) | Pr, + |
| 77 | Sandpiper - Tringa stagnatilis (Btchst.) | Pr, + |
| 78 | Carrier - Actitis hypoleucos (L.) | Gn,++; Pr, +++ |
| 79 | Morodunka - Xenus cinereus (Guld.) | Pr, + |
| 80 | Round-nose phalarope - Phalaropus lobatus (L.) | Pr + |
| 81 | Turukhtan - Philomachus pugnax (L.) | Pr, +++ |
| 82 | Sandpiper - Calidris minuta (Leisler) | Pr, ++ |
| 83 | Redshank - Calidris ferruginea (Pontop.) | Pr, + |
| 84 | Dunlin - Calidris alpine (L.) | Pr, + |
| 85 | Gerbil - Calidris alba (Pall.) | Pr, + |
| 86 | Mudweed - Limicola falcinellus (Pontop.) | Pr + |
| 87 | Snipe - Gallinago gallinago (L.) | Pr, + |
| 88 | Black-headed gull - Larus ichthyaetus Pall. | L +; Pr, G +++ |
| 89 | Lesser gull - Larus minutus Pall. | Pr, ++ |
| 90 | Black-headed gull - Larus ridibundus L. | Pr, ++ |
| 91 | Sea Pigeon - Larus genei Breme | Evil, + |
| 92 | Laughingtail - Larus cachinnans Pall. | Pr, L, ++++ |
| 93 | Common gull - Larus canus L. | Pr, ++ |
| 94 | Black Tern - Chlidonias niger (L.) | PR + |
| 95 | White-winged Tern - Chlidonias leucopterus (Temm.) | Pr, +++ |
| 96 | White-cheeked tern - Chlidonias hybrida (Pall.) | Pr++ |
| 97 | Common tern - Sterna hirundo L. | Z + |
| Order CIOBEAN - COLUMBIFORMES | ||
| 98 | Pigeon - Columba palumbus L. | Gn, Pr, ++ |
| 99 | Rock pigeon - Columba livia Gm. | K, + |
| 100 | Common turtledove - Streptopelia turtur (L.) | Pr, ++ |
| Order CUCULIFORMES | ||
| 101 | Common cuckoo - Cuculus canorus L. | Gn, Pr ++ |
| Order Owls - STRIGIFORMES | ||
| 102 | Long-eared owl - Asio otus (L.) | Gn, Pr, Z, +++ |
| 103 | Short-eared owl - Asio flammeus (Pont.) | Pr, ++ |
| Order SWIFT-FORMED - APODIFORMES | ||
| 104 | Black swift - Apus apus (L.) | Pr++ |
| Order Coraciiformes - CORACIIFORMES | ||
| 105 | Roller - Coracias garrulus L. | Pr, + |
| 106 | European bee-eater - Merops apiaster L. | Pr, ++++ |
| Order UPUPIFORMES | ||
| 107 | Hoopoe - Upupa epops L. | Pr, ++ |
| Order Woodpeckers - PICIFORMES | ||
| 108 | Spotted Woodpecker - Dendrocopos major (L.) | Gn, Z, + |
| Order PASSERIFORMES - PASSERIFORMES | ||
| 109 | Sand swallow - Riparia riparia (L.) | Pr, +++ |
| 110 | Barn swallow - Hirundo rustica L. | Pr, +++; Gn++ |
| 111 | Funnel - Delichon urbica (L.) | Pr, ++; Gn + |
| 112 | Crested lark - Galerida cristata (L.) | Gn, Z, + |
| 113 | Sky lark - Alauda arvensis L. | Gn +; Pr, +++ |
| 114 | Forest Pipit - Anthus trivialis (L.) | Gn ++, Pr, ++ |
| 115 | Yellow wagtail - Motacilla flava L. | Pr, ++ |
| 116 | Black-headed wagtail - Motacilla feldegg Mich. | Pr,++ |
| 117 | Yellow-headed wagtail - Motacilla citreola Pall. | Gn++ |
| 118 | White wagtail - Motacilla alba L. | Gn, Pr, ++++ |
| 119 | Common Shrike - Lanius collurio L. | Gn, ++ |
| 120 | Gray shrike - Lanius excubitor L. | Pr, Z, + |
| 121 | Common Oriole - Oriolus oriolus (L.) | Pr, + |
| 122 | Common starling - Sturnus vulgaris L. | Pr, ++ |
| 123 | Jay - Garrulus glandarius (L.) | K, Z, +++ |
| 124 | Magpie - Pica pica (L.) | Gn, Z, +++ |
| 125 | Jackdaw - Corvus monedula L. | Gn, Z, ++ |
| 126 | Rook - Corvus frugilegus L. | Gn, Pr, Z, ++++ |
| 127 | Hoodie - Corvus cornix L. | Gn, Z, +++ |
| 128 | Raven - Corvus corax L. | K, Z, + |
| 129 | Wren - Troglodytes troglodytes (L.) | Gn, Z, ++ |
| 130 | Wood Accentor - Prunella modularis (L.) | Gn, Z, ++ |
| 131 | Broad-tailed warbler - Cettia cetti (Temm.) | Gn, Pr + |
| 132 | Badger Warbler - Acrocephalus schoenobaenus (L.) | Gn++ |
| 133 | Slender-billed warbler - Lusciniola melanopogon (Temm.) | Gn++ |
| 134 | Marsh warbler - Acrocephalus palustris (Bech.) | Gn?, + |
| 135 | Reed Warbler - Acrocephalus scirpaceus (Herm.) | Gn + |
| 136 | Thrush warbler - Acrocephalus arundinaceus (L.) | Gn, Pr, ++++ |
| 137 | Black-headed Warbler - Sylvia atricapilla (L.) | Gn, Pr, +++ |
| 138 | Gray Warbler - Sylvia communis Lath. | Gn, Pr, +++ |
| 139 | Willow Warbler - Phylloscopus trochilus (L.) | Pr, ++ |
| 140 | Chiffchaff - Phylloscopus collybita (Vieillot) | Pr,+++ |
| 141 | Gray flycatcher - Muscicapa striata (Pall.) | Pr, +++ |
| 142 | Meadow stonechat - Saxicola rubetra (L.) | Gn, Pr ++ |
| 143 | Stonechat – Saxicola torquata (L.) | Gn, Pr, ++ |
| 144 | Common wheatear - Oenanthe oenanthe (L.) | Gn, Pr, ++ |
| 145 | Dancer Wheatear - Oenanthe isabellina (Temm.) | Pr++ |
| 146 | Common redstart - Phoenicurus phoenicurus (L.) | Gn, Pr, ++ |
| 147 | Redstart - Phoenicurus ochruros (S. G. Gmelin) | Gn, Pr, ++v |
| 148 | Robin - Erithacus rubecula (L.) | Gn, PR, ++ |
| 149 | Blackbird - Turdus merula L. | Gn, Z, + |
| 150 | Song Thrush - Turdus philomelos C. L. Brehm | Gn, Pr, + |
| 151 | Whiskered tit - Panurus biarmicus (L.) | Pr++ |
| 152 | Long-tailed tit - Aegithalos caudatus (L.) | Gn, Z, +++ |
| 153 | Common blue tit - Parus caeruleus L. | Gn, Z, +++ |
| 154 | Great tit - Parus major L. | Gn, Z, +++ |
| 155 | Common pika - Certhia familiaris L. | Gn, Z, ++ |
| 156 | House Sparrow - Passer domesticus (L.) | Gn, Z +++ |
| 157 | Tree Sparrow - Passer montanus (L.) | Pr, Z, +++ |
| 158 | Finch - Fringilla coelebs L. | Gn, Pr, ++++ |
| 159 | Finch - Fringilla montifringilla L. | Pr, Z, +++ |
| 160 | Common greenfinch - Chloris chloris (L.) | Gn, Z, +++ |
| 161 | Siskin – Spinus spinus (L.) | Pr, Z, ++ |
| 162 | Black-headed Goldfinch - Carduelis carduelis (L.) | Gn, Pr, +++ |
| 163 | Linnet - Acanthis cannabina (L.) | Pr +++ |
| 164 | Common lentil - Carpodacus erythrinus (Pall.) | Gn, ++ |
| 165 | Millet - Emberiza calandra L. | Gn, +++ |
| 166 | Common Bunting - Emberiza citrinella L. | Pr, ++ |
| 167 | Reed bunting - Emberiza schoeniclus (L.) | Z++ |
| 168 | Garden bunting - Emberiza hortulana L. | Pr, ++ |
* - Designations: Gn - nesting, Gn? - possibly nesting, Z - wintering, Zl - vagrant, L - flying, K - nomadic, Pr - migratory; + - rare, ++ - few in number, +++ - common, ++++ - numerous.
| 1 | Black-throated Loon | Gavia arctica (L.) |
| 2 | Karavayka | Plegadis falcinellus (L.) |
| 3 | little swan | Cygnus bewickii Yarrell |
| 4 | European tuvik | Accipiter brevipes (Severtzov) |
| 5 | Buzzard | Buteo rufinus (Cretzschmar) |
| 6 | steppe eagle | Aquila rapax (Temm.) |
| 7 | Lesser Spotted Eagle | Aquila pomarina C. L. Brehm |
| 8 | Greater Spotted Eagle | Aquila clanga Pall. |
| 9 | Burying ground | Aquila heliaca Savigny |
| 10 | White-tailed eagle | Haliaeetus albicilla (L.) |
| 11 | Griffon Vulture | Gyps fulvus (Hablizl) |
| 12 | Black vulture | Aegypius monachus (L.) |
| 13 | Peregrine Falcon | Falcoperegrinus Tunstall |
| 14 | Stilt | Himantopus himantopus (L.) |
| 15 | Oystercatcher | Haematopus ostralegus L. |
| 16 | Black-headed Laughing Gull | Larus ichthyaetus Pall. |
Social and cultural significance of the site
Ponds, lake The Maloye and the reservoir are used throughout all seasons by amateur fishermen. In the last 10 years, their number has increased significantly. On Lake Maloye on some days we registered up to 100 anglers. The reservoir is visited by many fishermen in winter. Commercial fishing is carried out in small quantities (in the autumn).There are two hunting grounds on the territory of the land. Amateur waterfowl hunting is carried out in the autumn from September 3 to December 31. However, it is unproductive and we have never observed large hunts here. In rare cases, more than 5-6 hunters were noted on hunting grounds. The recreational potential of the land is poorly used. In September-October, the population collects blackberries along the banks of the reservoir, and apricots in the forest belts in the summer.
Forms of land ownership
On the territory of the land there are the following forms of land ownership: state (reserve lands), collective-share (collective farm lands and peasant farms, lands of joint-stock companies and fish farms).In the surrounding territory there are the following forms of land ownership: state, collectively shared and private.
Land use
Recreational fishing is widespread in the reservoirs of the area, and commercial fishing is carried out in small quantities. The area surrounding the reservoirs is plowed. Grains, sunflowers, peas, corn, beets, and forage grasses are grown in the fields. There are few pastures.Factors negatively affecting the condition of the land
On the site: Of the negative factors, the most important is the factor of disturbance for nesting birds in the summer by amateur fishermen. In recent years, this factor has increased, which has led to an almost complete cessation of nesting of grebes, coots, moorhens, and marsh harriers in the coastal reeds of Lake. Small.Significant seasonal fluctuations in the water level in the Kuban Reservoir, reaching 5-7 m (in some years up to 10 m), have a negative impact. As a result, there is practically no submerged or above-water vegetation in the reservoir. The influx of cold water into the reservoir from the Great Stavropol Canal has a negative impact on biological productivity. In addition, during the summer flood period it has significant turbidity.
Fishing pressure on waterfowl is quite small and hunting does not have a big impact on the distribution and number of birds in the area.
In the surrounding area: Application of herbicides and pesticides in the fields surrounding the lake. Maloe, apparently, negatively affects the aquatic ecosystems of this reservoir (the problem has not been studied).
Environmental measures taken
The site has no special protection. The reservoir dam is currently guarded by police. The rest of the territory is occasionally controlled by employees of the hunting supervision department.Proposed environmental measures
It is proposed to create a regional reserve on the territory of the site, which would include the lake. Small. On its territory it is necessary to prohibit: visiting the territory by people and fishing during the nesting period of waterfowl from the end of March to the end of July; plowing of coastal areas in a strip of 100 m; grazing of livestock along the banks of reservoirs; mowing and burning reed beds and coastal vegetation; spring hunt.Scientific research
Irregular studies are carried out by ornithologists of the Karachay-Cherkess State University. These studies include censuses of the number of waterbirds during the migratory and wintering periods. The site is promising for creating a hospital for the study of environmental problems, ornithological and ichthyological research.Environmental education
Environmental education is not provided. Only occasionally the site is visited by excursions of schoolchildren and students.Recreation and tourism
The site is popular among amateur fishermen in Cherkessk and other populated areas. Other types of recreation are not developed here.Jurisdiction
Government of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic (369000, Cherkessk, Lenin St., Government House).Site management body
RAO UES of Russia, OAO Stavropol Electric Generating Company (Nevinomysk, Stavropol Territory, Vodoprovodnaya St., 360 A).Office of the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance for the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, hunting supervision department (369000, Cherkessk, Kolantaevskogo str., 17 A).
TO Rasnodar The reservoir is the third Kuban Sea.
Over the observable history of Kuban until 1973, more than 100 catastrophic spills were recorded on the main water artery North Caucasus.
To protect against floods, since the end of the 19th century, local attempts have been made to build flood barriers and dams. However, these pathetic attempts could not cope with the onslaught of the elements; old-timers remember the times when even entire districts of Krasnodar were flooded every two or three years. The devastating floods of 1956, when 156 settlements were flooded, and 1966, when flood damage amounted to 60 million Soviet rubles, became the final argument in favor of the immediate construction of a large regulating reservoir.
19th century map. Dotted lines indicate lands subject to flooding.
The design process was not without losses and human tragedies. For the bowl of the future reservoir, the following areas were allocated: the territory of the previously existing Tshchik reservoir, but most of it was the land of Adygea with twenty villages and hamlets. 
Tshchika Reservoir on an old foreign map
Their residents were forced to leave their homes. In total, more than 11 thousand people were resettled to the newly built city of Teuchezhsk (now Adygeisk) and the village of Tlyustenkhabl. 28 cemeteries, 5 mass graves were moved, and more than 16 thousand hectares of forest were cut down.
In addition, the extensive burial mounds of the Scythian and Maikop cultures located in the flooded area have not been fully explored.
Filling the surrounding rivers with water began in 1973.
Today it successfully fulfills its main functions, cutting off the peaks of spring floods on a territory with a total area of 600 thousand hectares, including certain areas of the regional center. According to the latest data, thanks to him, the threat of major floods in the lower reaches of the Kuban River was averted 15 times.
In addition, the reservoir’s mass swallowed up the swamps that had flourished here in abundance since ancient times, provided irrigation to the rice fields, and also made it possible to breed valuable fish species.
The reservoir area is 420 km², volume - from 2.0 km³ to 3.1 km³. Length - 40 km, width - up to 15 km. The depth of the “sea” is on average 5 meters, in deep place, at the dam - 18 meters (which is almost comparable to the depth of the Sea of Azov).
The Krasnodar reservoir is the pride of Krasnodar residents and is popularly called the “Kuban Sea”.
In some parts of the city, for example, in the suburban microdistrict Khutor Lenina, the “sea” can be seen from the windows of multi-storey buildings (which serves as a marketing trump card when selling housing).
On the banks of the reservoir there are recreation centers and even a real yacht club!
In addition to its main purpose, the Krasnodar Reservoir will perhaps be of most interest to fishing enthusiasts. There are so many fish here, all types and sizes! In the upper reaches of the reservoir you can catch carp, ram, tench, roach, and catfish. In its southern part there is a lot of bleak, pike perch, sabrefish, silver carp, perch, bream are found, and along the shore you can catch crucian carp and carp. True, it is not possible to go fishing in all places; the object is still restricted, but luck smiles on inquisitive fishermen!
Along the southern shore of the reservoir, at times the water exposes archaeological and anthropological artifacts: ancient settlements, burial grounds, burial mounds, settlements, and numerous objects of the cultural layer.
And in 1997, in the area of the village of Necherziy, fishermen accidentally discovered the remains of a mammoth, washed out by a landslide, called “Necherezian”.
The found artifact is a new, previously unknown species of mammoth and the second almost completely preserved find in the Southern Federal District. According to experts, the preservation of the skeleton is about 70%. Today the skeletal reconstruction is on display in National Museum Adygea.
But the water, seemingly tamed, continues to inspire awe.
Legends are made about the man-made sea. Many, as a rule, have mystical overtones.
They say that in the fog that sometimes descends on the pond and surrounding area, you can see silhouettes and hear unusual sounds. Some suggest that these are the spirits of people buried in mounds that were disturbed during the construction of the reservoir. Some claim that they saw Meotian warriors, others that they heard human voices. The sounds of speech, according to the stories of some fishermen, took them far into the fog, tens of kilometers away.
During the construction of the reservoir, two dozen settlements went under water. People were forcibly moved to new places. They were expelled from the land on which many generations of their families lived and in which their ancestors found their last refuge. About fifty cemeteries were flooded, most of them were simply filled with concrete.
They even said that some of the residents did not want to leave their homes, preferring to die on their native land. Eyewitnesses of those events tell a strange story, almost a fable, about an old woman who did not want to leave her home and locked herself in her hut just before the flooding. The light in her window burned until the rising water extinguished it.
There are also more mundane, but no less creepy stories about giant catfish that wait at the bottom for fishermen and swimmers, and some have even been caught in different years and pulled out into the light of God with the help of a metal cable and a tractor.
But the main story of the last ten years, which has already become a kind of urban legend, is rumors about the emergency condition of the reservoir dam, and what will happen if a breakthrough occurs.
And it seems there are even theoretical calculations by scientists that the sea, having broken free, will take part of Krasnodar with it and rush south to meet its Black brother, absorbing the lands of Seversky, Abinsky district, Gelendzhik and Novorossiysk on its rapid path.
The famous Krasnodar photoblogger Sergei Evsyukov once fantasized about this topic, embodying in his works the gradual flooding of Krasnodar districts with the superimposition of catastrophic frames on real city landscapes.
You can see the essay about this in detail on the author’s blog.
And although the Kuban Sea has recently been increasingly criticized for changing the region’s climate for the worse, for increasing the mosquito population, for shallowing due to silt deposits, and generally for being useless, it remains an integral part of our history and the Kuban flavor.
View of the reservoir from an airplane
The grandiose construction project, which resulted in victory over the unruly riverbed of the Kuban, still causes controversy regarding the feasibility of its implementation. The reservoir gave Krasnodar the Gidrostroiteley microdistrict, and it also took away entire villages from the residents of Adygea - the native lands of a good ten thousand people.
How the Kuban River was managed before the construction of the reservoir, why they decided to build it and how this process took place - this is Vitaly Shtybin’s new material for Yuga.ru.
Fragments of maps of the surrounding areas of Krasnodar in 1877 and 2014
Before the construction of the Krasnodar reservoir, the lands along the Kuban were swampy, malarial floodplains, which caused many problems for local residents. From time to time, fortification ramparts were erected here, but they were washed away by floods. The fields could not be used for economic purposes. The malaria mosquito led to frequent epidemics. Krasnodar also suffered from floods - city gardens were flooded, water overflowed over the railway embankment onto Stavropolskaya Street, its height was sometimes knee-deep.
In 1917, a flood led to the flooding of areas south of Postovaya Street - between the 30th Anniversary of Victory Park and the modern Sedina plant. Factory territories became islands, vast areas of vegetable gardens and parts of the City Garden went under water, water flooded Dubinka from railway station to the prison on Voronezhskaya Street. The courtyards of residential buildings were in the water. The need to control the Kuban spills was obvious to everyone.
At that time, ancient villages of the Circassians-Bzhedugs with rich history and their family cemeteries. Adyghe (Circassian) linguist Kasim Khamosovich Meretukov managed in the 1930s to assemble an expedition and record the toponymy of settlements that were later flooded by the reservoir. His “Adyghe Toponymic Dictionary” preserves the meanings of the names of auls, forests, rivers, swamps, ravines, paths, mounds, meadows and fields that once formed the core of the ancient lands of the Adyghe-Bzhedugs. A shortened online version of the dictionary is available.
The first work to contain the waters of the Kuban began in 1940. On the section of the river between Ust-Labinsk and the mouth of the Belaya River, opposite the village of Vasyurinskaya, there was then a large Tshchikskoe swamp. By a resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR dated March 17, 1940, the authorities decided to build a reservoir in its place. For this work, about 64 thousand workers from Kuban collective farms were recruited on a voluntary-compulsory basis. There was little construction equipment, so they dug with shovels and carried earth, concrete and equipment on their shoulders. Construction proceeded quickly, 2-3 times ahead of schedule.
A 32-kilometer dam appeared to the right of the mouth of the Belaya River. A monolithic reinforced concrete spillway dam with spans of 10 meters each was immediately built. The main building was located in its northeastern part. The picturesque ruins of these buildings are still visible today. Shafts and rice paddies were built on the right bank of the reservoir. The construction of the Tshchik Reservoir eliminated the threat of annual spring and summer floods.
At the same time, the builders destroyed the remains of the fortifications of the Right Wing of the Kuban Cordon Line of the 19th century, as well as the road built by count and commander Alexander Suvorov in the late 1770s.
The threat of flooding during major summer floods, however, remained as before, and everything led to the fact that the area of the reservoir needed to be increased. Since 1966, research began on the lands that were planned to be used for this. To prevent panic rumors, teams went to the villages to carry out explanatory work for the population. In June 1967, the Council of Ministers of the USSR approved the project for constructing a reservoir.
As a result, 12 villages and villages were completely flooded. Another 10 were partially drowned. The reservoir occupied arable land and dozens of farms in five administrative districts, including the Oktyabrsky microdistrict of the city of Krasnodar. On an area of 35 thousand hectares there were 46 cemeteries, 5 mass graves, 16 thousand hectares of forest (it was completely cut down). It was necessary to resettle almost 13 thousand people, which took almost two years. The majority settled in the village of Adygeisky, which later became the city of Teuchezhsky (now Adygeisk), and Tlyustenkhable.
Settlements where in 1967-69. resettled most of the residents of villages and villages located on the territory of the future reservoir
The flooded area was a continuous archaeological zone, in which teams of specialists worked day and night to save at least the most valuable exhibits. The excavations were led by the famous archaeologist N.V. Anfimov, who complained about round-the-clock work. Archaeologists were forced to sleep in summer tents in November in sub-zero temperatures.
Thanks to their work, a huge number of exhibits were systematized and taken to the archives of the country’s museums. Some of them ended up in the Felitsin Museum in Krasnodar; the further fate and whereabouts of the other, most of them, are now unknown. At the same time, archaeological sites were described and systematized. 12 settlements of the ancient Maikop culture, many mounds and ancient settlements, medieval cemeteries remained under a layer of water. There is an opinion that this is even a good thing, since water is the best guard against black diggers.
During the construction of the Krasnodar reservoir, the villages of Severny, Tshchiksky, and Yuzhny disappeared; the villages of Barsuki, Verbovy, Kurgo, Starokubansky, Melikhov, Rustuki, Kosh, Ternovy, Karmalino, Mayak; auls Lakshukai, Leninakhabl, New Kazanukai, Old Kazanukai, Necherezii, Shabanokhabl, Shakhancheriekhabl, New Edepsukai, Old Edepsukai. Lakshukai was the largest Adyghe-Bzhedug aul with a rich history, the center of the Bzhedug uprisings of 1855.
In 1969, to the southwest of the reservoir, the construction of a settlement for migrants began - the working village of Adygeisky (now Adygeisk). Most of the residents from flooded villages and villages were resettled there. Also, the villages of Pseituk, Takhtamukai, Vochepshy, Ponezhukai, Kozet, Gatlukai, Dzhidzhikhabl, Enem, the villages of Yablonovsky and Psekups, and the city of Krasnodar received the settlers.
Some residents settled in newly formed villages on the shore of the reservoir and in unflooded areas of the old ones. The old Noble village of Tlyustenkhabl also fell into the reservoir zone, the eastern houses of which were moved to the other side of the highway. The ancient gravestones of the descendants of the Crimean khans Giray, which were recorded here by the ethnographer Lavrov in the 1920s, were taken to the museum archives, and since then their traces have been lost.
People understood that the new project would bring benefits in the form of draining swamps, building rice fields, preventing destructive floods and breeding valuable fish species. But not everyone was ready to accept the loss of their native lands and the cemeteries of their ancestors. Those who resisted resettlement were removed with the help of the police. Elderly people suffered especially, as it was difficult for them to settle into new buildings. Among them were elders who still remembered the tragedy of the resettlement at the end of the Caucasian War. According to residents of Adygeisk, with whom the author spoke during the preparation of the material, many did not survive the move.
On April 3, 1968, the first dredger was blown up, marking the beginning of construction. About a year later, a legend appeared about a burning candle in the window of a hut that was empty before the flooding of the village. Allegedly, one of the residents did not want to leave and drowned along with the house. The active actions of the police and the long period of resettlement refute this legend. However, myths are a tenacious thing, so the ghosts of unfortunate drowned people constantly disturb the imagination of the residents of Krasnodar.
In May 1973, the first stage of the reservoir was put into operation. According to the website of the Federal State Budgetary Institution “Krasnodar Reservoir”, over the 45 years of its operation, 13 major floods have been prevented in the lower reaches of the Kuban River.
There are various myths associated with the influence of the reservoir on the climate of the Krasnodar region. Numerous sources from the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries refute them. The climate was already very changeable and harsh. During the winter there could be warm days, at the end of March there were winter snowstorms, and the summer was as hot as today. Dozens of eyewitnesses of those years write about this, including the Cossack historian Popko.
Experts confidently say that the increase in average annual temperatures is a global phenomenon and has nothing to do with the influence of the reservoir. As in the past, severe winters with snowdrifts occur in Kuban today in some years. And in the same way, they are celebrated as an unusual and memorable event - such winters have never been the norm for the region. The only weather phenomenon associated with the construction of the reservoir was the appearance of dense fogs on its right bank in the area of the village of Starokorsunskaya. This fog is a favorite place for the public appearance of various types of ghosts to the delight of impressionable audiences.
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On July 27, 1976, the working village of Adygeisky was given the status of a city and renamed the city of Teuchezhsk, in honor of the Adyghe (Circassian) folk poet-ashug Tsug Teuchezh. In 1990, the name of Adygeisk was returned to the city. Descendants of settlers from flooded villages recently erected a folk monument to their lost homeland. It was created in the form of five granite slabs with the names of displaced families - for each large village of the former Edepsukai village council and old map area at the stand. The memorial site is located on the Maykop-Krasnodar highway in front of the bridge over the Psekups River (Rosneft gas station).
On the website “Scientific Society of Caucasian Studies”; article “Krasnodar Reservoir” in the newspaper “MK” dated March 29, 2009; G. Gritsenko’s project “Krasnodar Reservoir. The problem of siltation of the water area"; article “Krasnodar Reservoir: Myths and Reality” in the newspaper “Krasnodar Izvestia” dated May 21, 2010, issue No. 87 (4441); “Military Statistical Review of the Kuban Region” by Korolkov (1900); N. Ogurtsov, Krasnodar Reservoir, 1975; newspapers “Sovetskaya Kuban”, “Rural Dawns” 1973, “Free Kuban”, “Izvestia” 90s.
At least twice a year: on the eve of the flood season, and then the resort season, clouds of all kinds of information gather over the Krasnodar reservoir about the fact that this object is far from safe, threatening at any moment to bring a lot of trouble to the city. The information does not become more varied over time, representing a traditional set of horror stories.
Who needs this and why is a separate conversation, with predictable conclusions. Today, with the help of specialists, we will try to disperse these clouds by drawing a line between speculation and the true state of affairs.
Myth No. 1
The construction of the Krasnodar reservoir itself was initially a stupid and even harmful idea.
Reality
The Kuban Sea, as a complex-purpose reservoir, was built to cut off flood peaks in order to eliminate the threat of flooding on an area of more than 600 thousand hectares, including in the regional center. There were plenty of reasons for its construction. For example, in 1956, 156 settlements were flooded. In 1966, flood damage amounted to 60 million rubles. Old-timers remember the times when entire districts of Krasnodar were flooded every two or three years, and even the military was involved in saving the population. Over thirty years of operation (since 1973)
The Krasnodar reservoir has prevented major floods in the lower reaches of the Kuban River thirteen times. Specialists of the Kuban Basin Water Administration remind that the regional commission, which investigated the main causes of the 2002 flood that was devastating for the central Kuban, assigned the Krasnodar reservoir an exceptional role in protecting the population from the disaster.
Member of the Federation Council Commission for Elimination of the Consequences of Floods in Southern Russia Nikolay Kondratenko noted in his report: “..Its designers and creators need to once again erect a monument. The reservoir was much maligned, there were almost calls to demolish it, but it saved us. Otherwise, the entire Azov region, Adygea, a huge part of the region would be in the water. And these are warehouses for pesticides, livestock farms, and oil storage facilities. It’s hard to imagine a tragedy that would play out here.”
Myth No. 2
The Krasnodar reservoir is poorly located seismologically. Its zone is divided by a deep fault, the load in the form of a shock wave along which can become a trigger for an earthquake.
Reality
All the talk that the reservoir is in a bad place and can provoke an earthquake has no scientific basis, says the director of the research center for forecasting and preventing geo-ecological and man-made disasters at Kuban State University, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vladimir Babeshko. - We know all the faults on the territory of Krasnodar, and they pass in other places, we are ready to show their map at any time. I declare categorically: the reservoir does not pose any seismological threat.
Myth No. 3
Siltation of the Krasnodar reservoir is proceeding at a colossal pace, as is the overgrowing of the reservoir. The hour is not far off when it will turn into a swamp and will no longer correspond to its own purpose and perform its functions.
Reality
The fact that riverbed reservoirs tend to silt has been known for a long time and, in fact, is not a particular problem, since the rules for operating the reservoir provide for the planned deepening of the mouths of rivers flowing into the reservoir, and other work that prevents the process from escalating into a catastrophe.
The Krasnodar Reservoir (Kuban Sea) is an artificial reservoir on the Kuban River, the largest reservoir in the North Caucasus. It was filled in 1973-1975, East End The new reservoir included the previously existing Tshik reservoir. The latter, separated from the western part by a half-submerged dam, which locals continue to call by its old name, is a favorite place for amateur fishermen.
All regulatory actions to clear the reservoir have been carried out regularly and regularly for about six years,” says the director of the federal state institution “Krasnodar Reservoir” Gennady Nikiforov. - On the one hand, this is invisible work, since it is carried out under water. On the other hand, dredgers in use can be observed on the reservoir. For clearing, we involve contractors, as well as our own, albeit small, forces.
Myth No. 4
Only scheduled repair work is being carried out on the reservoir by patching holes.
Reality
After the performance of the reservoir during the catastrophic flood of 2002 was assessed positively at the regional and federal levels, it was decided to forget that in 1999 the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations considered this facility dangerous, recognizing those arguments as incorrect. The amount of funding from the federal budget for repair and restoration work has increased. Has been completely renovated shipping lock, work is regularly carried out on anti-corrosion protection of metal structures of the main hydraulic structures, pumps are regularly changed, and pressure slopes are strengthened.
The purpose of creation Krasnodar Sea there was the organization of check rice growing and the fight against seasonal floods in the lower reaches of the Kuban. Navigation, originally organized through the reservoir, has now been stopped due to shallowing caused by river sediments. The left tributaries of the Kuban (from west to east) Belaya, Pshish, Marta, Apchas, Shunduk, Psekups directly flow into the reservoir. During the creation of the reservoir, the fertile lands of Adygea with twenty villages and farmsteads were flooded, the population of which was resettled to the newly built city of Teuchezhsk (now Adygeisk) and the village of Tlyustenkhabl. In the 90s of the 20th century, plans were proposed to lower the reservoir, or lower its level, which remained unrealized.
Now on the agenda is the replacement of the last, fifth gate at the main hydraulic structures, says Gennady Nikiforov. - It is supplied by the Volgograd plant, and in September we will complete this work. Four shutters had already been replaced previously. We continue to drill filtration wells along the right bank and along the main dam. Reconstruction of the pumping station in the Belorechensky district is planned for the fall. All this is a guarantee of the safety of the reservoir.
Myth No. 5
The water in the reservoir is polluted, so it has a bad effect on the environment.
Reality
Water quality control, or rather, state monitoring of the quality of surface water bodies in the area of activity of the Kuban Basin Water Administration, is carried out by the hydrochemical laboratory of the Federal State Institution “Kubanmonitoringvod”. Of course, the Krasnodar Reservoir also comes under study.
In early 2008, a project was announced to build the Adygea hydroelectric power station, which would use the existing reservoir to produce electricity. A criminal case is being investigated against Yuri Dzhabatirov, the general director of the Adygei Hydroelectric Power Plant company, which is building a hydroelectric power station in the republic for £65 million. He is suspected of forging documents that allowed the company to register ownership of construction projects and purchase 8.8 hectares of municipal land out of competition. This means that deadlines are delayed due to the crisis and funding disruptions. The construction of the station is currently practically not underway.
The conclusion from the latest data obtained is: “when taking water samples from the studied reservoirs, no visual pollution caused by anthropogenic impact was observed. The nature of the distribution of pollutants across the water areas of reservoirs is uniform. No high levels of pollutants were detected; The hydrochemical situation is stable, water quality is at the level of average long-term observations.”
Myth No. 6
Something is still wrong there...
Reality
According to the latest report from the Kuban Basin Water Administration, the flood situation in the Kuban River basin is calm. The volume of water in the Krasnodar reservoir is 1580 million m3, which is below the normal retaining level. The flood control tank is completely empty. The volume of the reservoir continues to decline due to the flooding of rice paddies: with a sowing plan of 128,600 hectares, rice was sown on an area of 98,900 hectares, including 84,500 hectares that were flooded.
The area of the Krasnodar reservoir is 420 km², volume - from 2.0 km³ to 3.1 km³ (regulated, the water level fluctuates by 8 m). Length - 40 km, width - up to 15 km
In the Kuban region of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic (Kavkazsky village). The reservoir is a bulk reservoir, located in the natural basin of the Great Salt Lake, near the left bank of the Big Stavropol Canal (BSK) between 32-47 km.
The normal retaining level (NRL) is 629 m. The total volume of the reservoir at NRL is 587 million m 3, the useful volume is 500 million m 3, the area of the water surface is 50 km 2, the maximum depth of the reservoir is 30 m. The length of the coastline is 31.4 km. Kubanskoye is the largest reservoir in Karachay-Cherkessia in terms of full and useful volume.
The banks of the reservoir are predominantly low, with the exception of the eastern ones. Small bays are available only in the eastern part of the reservoir.
The reservoir has been in operation since 1967. It is used for seasonal flow regulation: it is filled from the Big Stavropol Canal during the summer flood period, released during the low-water winter period, ensuring the operation of the Kuban hydroelectric power station cascade and the operation of water supply systems fed from the canal. The reservoir is filled and discharged through the structures of the Kuban Pumped Storage Power Plant (PSPP).
The maximum water level is observed in August–September, the minimum in April–May. The level difference in some years reaches 10–15 m. The level decrease occurs in the autumn-winter period; As a result, large areas of the bottom are exposed in the southwestern, shallowest part of the reservoir.
In summer the reservoir is filled with cold Kuban water, as a result of which the water temperature is quite low; the annual average does not exceed 8°C. The reservoir is covered with ice at the end of December, and is cleared of it at the end of March - beginning of April. But in warm winters, such as in 2003/2004, it does not freeze completely. Non-freezing polynyas remained in the winter of 2004/2005.
The reservoir is located in the forest-steppe zone of the northern slope of the Greater Caucasus. Previously, the vegetation in the vicinity of reservoirs was represented by forests of oak, ash, elm, and in the steppe areas - associations of bromegrass, wheatgrass, bearded grass, fescue, feather grass with an admixture of forbs. Currently, steppe vegetation has been preserved only on the steep slopes of the Sychev Mountains. The oak groves have been completely destroyed. The gentle slopes are plowed, the fields alternate with forest belts consisting of oak, ash, maple, elm, poplar, acacia, and apricot.
Large seasonal fluctuations in water levels, high turbidity and relatively low water temperatures during the summer flood period create unfavorable conditions for the growth of submerged and above-water vegetation; The banks are open almost throughout, with grassy low-growing coastal vegetation.
Water mineralization is low, no more than 200 mg/dm3. Monitoring of the water quality of the reservoir is carried out by the Federal State Budgetary Institution “Kuban Center for Monitoring of Water Bodies” in five sections: the village. Caucasian; supply channel to pumped storage power plant; dam of the western part of the reservoir; eastern part (Michurinsky village); With. Happy. The main pollutants are nitrite nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen, and copper. The quality of the water is characterized as “moderately polluted.”
The ichthyofauna is represented by the following species: trout, roach, Caucasian chub, rudd, Caucasian verkhovka, grass carp, North Caucasian long-mouthed gudgeon, Azov-Black Sea shemaya, Near Caucasian bleak, silver crucian carp, silver bream, fisher, carp (carp), bighead carp, pike perch, perch , pipefish.
The villages of Kavkazsky, Michurinsky, and Vodorazdelny are located near the reservoir.