Bukhtarma Reservoir

a reservoir formed by the dam of the Bukhtarma Hydroelectric Power Plant on the Irtysh River. Its filling began in 1960; long-range regulation of the discharge has been in effect since 1966. The reservoir consists of two sections: the river section (along the valley of the Irtysh River) and Lake Zaisan, where a wide reach was formed.

The Bukhtarma Reservoir is located in Vostochnyi Kazakhstan and Semipalatinsk oblasts of the Kazakh SSR. Its area is 5, 500 sq km, its volume is 53 cu km, its length is more than 500 km, its maximum width is 35 km, and its average depth is 9.6 m. Bays 30-50 km long and up to 10 km wide were formed in the valleys of the Bukhtarma and Narym rivers and in the Monchekur depression. The Bukhtarma Reservoir is very important in ensuring an increase in the electric-power capacity and production of the Bukhtarma and Ust’-Kamenogorsk hydroelectric power plants as well as of the hydroelectric power plants planned for construction lower on the river. Water is discharged from the reservoir every spring to irrigate hundreds of thousands of hectares of floodplains in Pavlodar, Semipalatinsk, and other oblasts. The reservoir creates a deep waterway and improves navigation conditions for ships on the Irtysh up to Omsk. Carp, bream, various sturgeons, and other fish are caught in the reservoir.