The surveyed reservoir is shallow: its depth during the summer low-water period is about 2 meters, water resources are provided by the inflow of spring flood waters from the catchment area and technical means from the Volga River through the canal of the Sarpinsky irrigation and water supply system.
The maximum water level in the lake is observed in the spring, the minimum - in the winter months.
The average long-term value of the water level in the lake during the period of natural reproduction is 230 cm. Accordingly, filling the lake above the specified mark characterizes the spring flood as high-water, the most favorable for the conditions of natural reproduction of aquatic bioresources, and vice versa - the lower the level, the worse their conditions for reproduction and fattening.
Analysis of the water regime on Lake Tsatsa for a ten-year period shows that 2015, 2016, 2017, as well as the period from 2021 to 2024 were characterized by low water, that is, the water level in the spring was 190-210 cm. The most high-water years for the period under review can be considered 2018 and 2019: then the level was 290-320 cm.
From 2020 to 2024. the depth varied from 160 to 180 cm. The lake went into wintering in the period from 2024 to 2025 with an extremely low water level of only 150 cm.
The results of the studies, despite the concerns of experts, indicate fairly stable living conditions for aquatic biological resources during the freeze-up period. The absence of acute toxicity and hydrochemical indicators confirm that the ecological state of the reservoir remains within the normal range.
At the time of the survey, the depth relative to the observation post was 153 cm, the oxygen indicator was recorded at a fairly high level. Key hydrochemical and physical parameters were also measured at the site of the work: pH level, water temperature, thickness of ice and snow cover.
Press service of VNIRO
