The water level at the Vranov Reservoir in South Moravia has dropped by more than ten meters, laying bare historical ruins, vast industrial remnants, and over two tons of submerged waste. According to Znojemský deník, the hydrologically unfavorable situation has left the reservoir’s storage capacity filled to just roughly 28 percent.
Rising Tourism and the Resurgence of Old Bítov
The drastic drop in water levels has transformed the local landscape near Znojmo, offering a rare glimpse into the region’s past. Where deep water once covered the valley beneath the Moravian castle of Bítov, visitors now encounter the stone walls, paving stones, and pathways of the original village flooded in the 1930s. Local residents and tourists have flocked to the basin out of curiosity, turning the exposed mudflats and foundations into an unexpected attraction. The water level in the reservoir dropped to 10.5 meters below the ideal state, revealing historical structures such as a stone cellar that had remained hidden on the bottom. Tady byl dům a támhle mi přijde, jak kdyby tam byl kostel. Je tam taková celá ta loď,
described a local resident to TV Nova crews. While visitors noted they usually went to look at the overflowing reservoir in the spring, the current drought conditions prompted heightened tourism as people arrived out of curiosity.
Yet the exposure of the lakebed goes far beyond historical masonry. Water managers and cleanup crews have found themselves contending with decades of accumulated refuse left behind beneath the surface.
Managing Waste and Adjusting Outflows
State enterprise Povodí Moravia has mobilized cleanup operations across the South Moravian region, taking advantage of the low water levels to reach difficult areas. According to Ekolist.cz, workers removed more than two tons of diverse waste from the Vranov reservoir alone, utilizing a specialized work boat equipped with a hydraulic crane to haul out items like tires and old barrels. Dyje river basin director Petr Havlík noted that the cleanup here is the most demanding due to site access, requiring the specialized boat alongside standard equipment.
At the same time, the receding supply has forced administrative intervention to conserve remaining reserves. Povodí Moravia submitted a proposal to the South Moravian Drought Commission to reduce the reservoir’s outflow from three cubic meters per second down to two, aiming to stem the depletion while drinking water supplies remain secure for the approximately one hundred municipalities dependent on the basin. Reservoir dam keeper David Pospíchal added that managers try to retain the maximum amount of water, matching the outflow directly to the inflow.
Regional Maintenance Amid Nationwide Dryness
The severe lack of water extends to other regional basins, including the Vír Reservoir on the Žďársko hills, where water managers removed approximately 50 cubic meters of driftwood and around 500 kilograms of garbage from the surroundings this year. Povodí Moravia workers also cleared waste from the drained Rouchovany water reservoir near Dukovany in the Třebíč region, and removed concrete structures and barriers from the dried-up section of the Kuřimka stream in Kuřim, Brno-Country.
