About Sulejow Dam

The Sulejów reservoir on the Pilica river in Łódź province holds 84.3 million cubic metres and was completed in 1973 as the main water supply reservoir for the Łódź metropolitan area. The 17-metre earth embankment dam near Sulejów town in central Poland creates an unusually long and meandering reservoir — extending some 27 kilometres upstream through the Pilica river valley — with an average depth of only about 3.5 metres due to the flat terrain of the central Polish lowlands. The reservoir supplies drinking water to Łódź, Poland's third largest city, via a treatment plant and extensive distribution network. It also provides flood attenuation for the Pilica valley and supports downstream ecological flows. The Sulejów reservoir and the surrounding Sulejów Landscape Park protect significant riverside forest habitats with extensive oak-hornbeam woodlands, riparian alder stands, and internationally important populations of the great grey owl and white-tailed eagle. The landscape park covers around 17,000 hectares and includes the ruins of the historic Cistercian abbey at Sulejów town — a 12th-century monument of national significance. Recreational fishing, kayaking, and cycling are popular activities on and around the reservoir. Eutrophication management is an ongoing challenge given agricultural nutrient inputs from the intensive farming landscape of the Pilica catchment.