Lake Pângărați

Lake Pângărați lies on the middle course of the Bistrița river in Pângărați commune, east of Pângărați village, next to the Bicaz-Piatra Neamț section of national road DN15. The valley is framed by the Stânișoara Mountains to the north and the Tarcău Mountains to the south. The lake covers 153 ha, holds a total of 6.75 million m³ and is up to 14 m deep, with a normal water level of 369.6 m. It receives the water discharged through the tailrace canal of the Stejaru hydropower plant and is followed downstream by the Vaduri and Bâtca Doamnei lakes. The lake was created in 1964 for hydropower. Because they are fed with warmer water from Lake Izvorul Muntelui, the lakes below the Bicaz dam freeze less, and any ice cover that forms is incomplete. As a result, the lake has become a wintering, feeding and nesting site for migratory waterbirds of the eastern Carpathian flyway. Counts in the management plan recorded on Lake Pângărați, in January and February, 150-200 mute swans (Cygnus olor), 150-250 whooper swans (Cygnus cygnus), 500-600 mallards and 2,000-2,500 coots, and in spring also white storks and black terns. The Ceahlău National Park Administration advises against feeding the swans bread and suggests wheat, oats, peas or lettuce when extra food is needed. The lake holds pike, chub, perch, bream and other fish, and the site regulations allow sport fishing. Lake Pângărați is a bird nature reserve (IUCN category IV), designated by Government Decision no. 2151/2004. Together with the Vaduri and Bâtca Doamnei lakes it forms the special protection area for birds ROSPA0125 Lacurile Vaduri și Pângărați (452 ha), designated by Government Decision no. 1284/2007. Since autumn 2016 the site has been in the custody of the Ceahlău National Park Administration, at the request of the Neamț County Council.