The Domaša Reservoir in the Spectrum of Climate Change

The importance of water reservoirs in the uneven distribution of discharges over time and space does not need to be explicitly justified. There is a more than 6,000-year history of convincing evidence. In Slovakia, the construction of reservoirs can be dated to two periods. The first period was the 18th century, when the construction of water reservoirs was stimulated by the need for water for the mining industry in the vicinity of the town of Bánska Štiavnica. The second period falls into the second half of the 20th century. The construction of reservoirs was initiated by the post-war period, including the need to increase society’s standard of living, the electrification of the region, the development of industry and agriculture, flood protection, etc. Reservoirs with multi-annual regulations have an essential position in the types of water reservoirs. While small water reservoirs and annual or seasonal regulation can regulate flows in a short period, reservoirs with multi-annual regulation can regulate flows over several years. This benefit is evident, especially during periods of extreme hydrological phenomena and short-term aquatic and long-term dry, so-called low water periods. We have illustrated our knowledge of and experience gained from their impact on the flows downstream of the Veľká Domaša dam. We analyzed two time periods, i.e., before and after the year 2000. The influence of extreme hydrological phenomena on the runoff conditions downstream of the dam is presented by statistical processing of the available flow series