Burshtyn Reservoir and Discharge Canal

Accommodation around

Burshtyn Reservoir is a reservoir created in 1965 on the Hnyla Lypa River for the needs of the Burshtyn Thermal Power Plant, which was built near the city of Burshtyn (Ivano-Frankivsk region) in 1962. The reservoir is over 7.5 km long and about 2.5 km wide. The total area is 12.6 km². The average depth is 3.5 m, and the maximum depth is 8 m. The water volume is 500 million m³. The best place to see the reservoir from above is from the side of Bovsiv Kasova Hora Nature Reserve and the observation deck on the mountain. Burshtyn Reservoir is a wetland of international importance and belongs to Halytsky National Nature Park.

The water temperature in July ranges from +22 to +24°C. It partially freezes in January–February and thaws in March. Water level fluctuations can reach up to 1 meter. To improve the hydrological regime of the reservoir, wastewater treatment, bank stabilization, and deepening of certain areas are carried out.

Swimming in the reservoir is not recommended, but it is an acceptable place for fishing. Among the aquatic vegetation of the reservoir are water horsetail, water fern, arrowhead, lake bulrush, and reeds, with green algae and phytoplankton developing. The water is constantly warm, and it is home to fish such as carp, bream, channel catfish, silver crucian carp, bleak, pike perch, perch, pike, and ruffe. In the coastal thickets, one can find many waterfowl, including wild ducks, gray cranes, muskrats, and swans.

According to Article 1 of the Ramsar Convention, wetlands are defined as areas of marshes, swamps, bogs, fens, or water bodies – natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, standing or flowing, fresh, brackish, or saline, including marine waters, with a depth not exceeding six meters. To identify sites that can be designated for the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance, criteria have been developed, including: typicality and uniqueness of ecosystems for the biogeographical region, the value of the site for maintaining the biological diversity of the region, the existence of endemic, rare, and endangered species of plants and animals, a regular habitat for over 20,000 waterfowl, or an important site for spawning, feeding, and wintering of local fish species, etc. Each Contracting Party to the Convention must designate at least one of its wetlands for the Ramsar List and protect it.

Currently, the Ramsar List includes 2,221 wetlands with a total area of about 21.421 million hectares. Among them are our 33 wetlands of international importance with a total area of about 678 thousand hectares. Of these, 22 wetlands received international status in 1995, and in 2004, the Ramsar Convention Secretariat decided to grant international status to another 11 wetlands in Ukraine, which are located within the territories of Ukraine's nature reserve fund.

Burshtyn Reservoir and the Dniester River within the Halytsky district have been included in the list of Wetlands of International Importance. Valuable in terms of conservation, economic, eco-educational, and recreational aspects, the water bodies of the Ivano-Frankivsk region received the conservation status of "Ramsar wetlands" thanks to the diligent work of the public organization "Eco-Galych: Rehabilitation of Wildlife," which works on the preservation, restoration, and rational use of Burshtyn Reservoir, located in Halytsky National Nature Park (managed by Burshtyn TPP) and the Dniester River.

The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, mainly as habitats for waterfowl (known as the Ramsar Convention after the city of its founding - Ramsar, Iran) began on February 2, 1971. Ukraine renewed its membership in the convention in 1996 and is among the 169 Contracting Parties to the Convention.

Fishing on the Burshtyn Canal near the reservoir

The dam of the small discharge canal of Burshtyn TPP has become a kind of reserve peninsula in the wetland of international importance - Burshtyn Reservoir. This is the only place in western Ukraine where such a large number of waterfowl gather. Currently, up to 100 different bird species have been recorded at the water body, 19 of which are listed in the Red Book of Ukraine.

The Deputy Director for Scientific Work of Halytsky National Nature Park, in collaboration with the Dutch company Silence TV Europe, has developed a unique hardware and software complex for observing birds for amateur ornithologists and scientists. The number of rare bird species captured by the cameras was unexpected. With the help of the program, scientists can conduct research around the clock, identify birds, and systematically analyze population status, study behavior, and the phenology of migrations. The consultant was Volodymyr Buchko, who made many adjustments to the technical task and advised programmers at all stages of development and implementation of the product. Currently, time-lapse videos are already available for effective use in research work and image capture systems with "timestamps."

DTEK, together with the Dutch company Silence TV Europe and Halytsky National Nature Park, has installed 4 online cameras that broadcast the life of waterfowl on the Burshtyn Peninsula. These are the first and currently the only birdwatching cameras in Ukraine available to all interested parties. But the work does not end here; the next stage is the implementation of a system for automated quantitative and qualitative image analysis and the inclusion of artificial intelligence in the program for bird identification.

Watch the beautiful landscapes with relaxing music in online video broadcasts.

A special commercial fish farm (SCF) has been established at Burshtyn Reservoir. The SCF regime operates throughout the reservoir and on the discharge canal of Burshtyn TPP. The SCF regime regulates amateur and sport fishing in the water body, defining places, times, tools, and conditions for fishing.

Free amateur fishing area: the left bank area of the reservoir within the administrative boundaries of the village of Korostovychy, 200 m wide into the water (length along the shore about 3.0 km). Paid amateur fishing area: the coastal water area from the southern boundary of the village of Korostovychy to the 500-meter prohibited zone near the dam, 200 m wide into the water (length along the shore about 4.5 km). Paid fishing is organized by LLC "Ribgospod Burshtynsky."

On December 27, 2019, the stocking of Burshtyn Reservoir took place. A total of 6,800 kg of fish fry were released into Burshtyn Reservoir. In particular, 504,160 pieces of silver carp and 62,500 carp were released. The stocking work was carried out at the expense of the user - LLC "Ribgospod Burshtynsky." Control over the stocking of aquatic biological resources was carried out by the employees of the Ivano-Frankivsk Fish Protection Patrol. Representatives of the State Ecological Supervision (Control) in Ivano-Frankivsk region of the State Ecological Inspection of the Carpathian region, Burshtyn City Council, Halytsky National Nature Park, and the public also participated in the event.

Wind surfers train at Burshtyn Reservoir. Windsurfing is a sport for the resilient and stubborn. It is not suitable for everyone. One has to fight against the wind, the water element, and one's own endurance. The main extreme windsurfer at the reservoir is Yuriy Chekh from Burshtyn. He was one of the first to become interested in sailing, learned by himself, and now shares his knowledge with those willing to learn.

We thank Taras Fedunyak for the wonderful photos of the city of Burshtyn and Burshtyn Reservoir, which were taken with a drone and published on Taras's FB page!

Below in the illustration, you will see other landmarks of Burshtyn, and we also suggest visiting the pages of the famous mosaic "Prometey" Culture Palace, "Berehynya" Historical and Ethnographic Museum, in the old part of Burshtyn the Roman Catholic Holy Trinity Church and Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.

Which water bodies allow free fishing?
How many aquatic biological resources can be caught?
Which water bodies allow the catch of aquatic biological resources?
What aquatic biological resources can be caught?
Clarifications on legislation for the public.
Order on the establishment of a spring-summer ban on the catch of aquatic biological resources in fishery water bodies of Ivano-Frankivsk region in 2020.