Lacul Siriu

Lacul Siriu is an artificial reservoir located in Buzău County, in the mountainous area of the Carpații de Curbură, on the upper course of the Buzău River, in the commune of Siriu. It was formed through the construction of the Siriu Dam, a hydraulic engineering project built over approximately two decades and completed in 1994. The dam is of the rockfill type, with a clay core, and was built using a method that was innovative for the time, without the use of concrete in its body, being constructed from rock, waste material and clay. It stands approximately 122 m high and measures about 570 m in length at the crest, placing it second among Romania's rockfill dams, after the Barajul Gura Apei in the Munții Retezat. The resulting reservoir has a volume of approximately 155 million cubic metres, covers an area of around 420 hectares and stretches for approximately 11 km. The main functions of the complex are the generation of electricity through the Nehoiașu hydroelectric power plant, which has an installed capacity of 42 MW, the supply of drinking and industrial water to downstream localities, the irrigation of agricultural land and flood mitigation. The construction required the relocation of approximately 300 households and the rerouting of national road DN10 to a new alignment that bypasses the lake by means of several viaducts, including those at Giurca and Stânca Tehărău. The surrounding area forms part of the Carpații de Curbură, covered with coniferous and deciduous forests typical of the mountain belt, and serves as an important starting point for hiking routes in the Munții Siriu, leading to destinations such as Lacul Vulturilor.