About Ticha Dam

Ticha Reservoir is situated in northeastern Bulgaria on the Ticha River, a right-bank tributary of the Kamchiya system, within the eastern Balkan Mountains near the town of Shumen. The dam was completed in 1984 and has a capacity of 311.8 MCM, making it one of the largest reservoirs in northeastern Bulgaria. Its principal functions are drinking water supply to Shumen, Targovishte, and several smaller towns in the Shumen and Targovishte regions, as well as irrigation supply for the Thracian Plain agricultural lands downstream. The reservoir is fed by the Ticha River and numerous smaller streams draining the eastern Stara Planina, which receives higher precipitation than the surrounding plains — the Balkan Mountains here intercept Atlantic and Mediterranean weather systems, producing reliable winter snowfall and spring melt. The reservoir landscape is characterised by beech and hornbeam forest on the northern slopes and more open terrain on the south-facing hillsides. Ticha is an important freshwater fishing location, prized for its carp and catfish populations. The water treatment infrastructure associated with Ticha is among the most modern in northeastern Bulgaria, having been upgraded in the 2000s to comply with European Union drinking water standards following Bulgaria's accession to the EU.