Arda and Studen Kladenets Reservoir

The Arda is a river whose source lies in the Bulgarian Rhodope Mountains near the town of Smolyan, flowing 290 kilometres eastward past Kardzhali and Ivaylovgrad and through Greece in the northern portion of the Evros prefecture including Kastanies. It then enters the Maritsa (Greek: Έβρος, Evros) just west of Edirne, Turkey. The portion in Bulgaria is accented by three hydroelectric and irrigation dams, Kardzhali Dam, Studen Kladenets and Ivaylovgrad Dam, and is 241 km long, making the Arda the longest river in the Rhodopes. The medieval Dyavolski most arch bridge crosses the river 10 km from Ardino.
The three floods of February 18, 2005, when the water level was at 4.8 m, March 1 and March 7, 2005 flooded the low lying areas, especially in the Kastanies area which turned the area into a lagoon. The merging of the waters of the Maritsa (Evros/Meriç) caused streets and buildings including homes to be flooded and people to be stranded in their homes.
Arda Peak on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named after Arda River.Studen Kladenets Reservoir

The Studen Kladenets Reservoir is the second largest reservoir in Bulgaria. It is situated on the river Arda, and is created behind the Studen Kladenets dam, 30 km south-east of the town of Kardzhali. There are another two dams of the Arda - Kardzhali Dam to the west (upstream) and Ivaylovgrad Dam to the east (downstream).
The reservoir has a total volume of 489 million m3 and a drainage basin of 3,706 km² and is 29 km long. It is situated at an average 227 m above sea level, its dam being 338 m long and 67.5 m high. The top of the dam consists of nine spillways, each one being 10.5 by 5 m. "Studen Kladenets" Hydroelectric Power Plant is situated appr. 1 km downstream of the dam. The HPP has four Francis-type turbines, 15 MW each. There is undergoing project for reconstruction and upgrading the HPP with another 16 MW turbine and a smaller eco-turbine and after the completion of the project the total output will reach 85 MW with annual production of 165 GWh of electricity.
Studen Kladenets reservoir is an attractive place for fishermen, where rudd is caught in great numbers. Studen Kladenets is Bulgarian for "a cold well".History
The initial plans for the construction of a dam on the Arda date to as early as 1948. Construction began in 1955 and was completed in 1957. The HPP started production in 1958.