Bucecea Reservoir

Bucecea Lake lies on the upper course of the Siret River, 50 kilometres from where the river enters Romania and 168 kilometres from its source. The dam stands level with the town of Bucecea on the left bank, in Botoșani county, and with Hănțești commune on the right bank, in Suceava county, 25 kilometres downstream of the Rogojești reservoir. The lake therefore lies on the border between the two counties. The dam, 20 metres high, is built of homogeneous earth, with closing dikes, a concrete spillway with four 16-metre gated bays and an upstream concrete face. The crest is at 274 metres and the normal retention level at 271 metres. The lake covers about 550 hectares, holds 18 million cubic metres and is up to 10 metres deep. The reservoir's main purpose is to supply water to Botoșani, Dorohoi and Bucecea, and it also provides flood protection. The gravity water intake, set next to the left-bank abutment, feeds the Botoșani-Dorohoi supply main, built of concrete pipes 2,200 millimetres in diameter. Together with the Rogojești reservoir upstream, the lake belongs to the "Acumulările Rogojești-Bucecea" special protection area for birds (ROSPA0110), designated in 2011 over 2,106 hectares on both banks of the Siret. The site was designated for waterbirds that stop here during migration, including the greater white-fronted goose, Eurasian teal, ferruginous duck, Eurasian coot, great egret, great cormorant and white-tailed eagle.