Poland to create huge artificial lake near Bełchatów as brown‑coal mine closes

State-owned PGE Górnictwo i Energetyka Konwencjonalna plans to flood two open‑pit lignite mines near Bełchatów, forming a large artificial lake that will serve as a tourist and recreational destination. The Bełchatów pit, measuring up to 8.5 km long, 3.2 km wide and originally 310 m deep, will be reshaped to a shoreline of about 190 m depth and a surface area exceeding 2 650 ha. Work on stabilising slopes and preparing the basin is underway, with an estimated 220 million cubic metres of overburden to be placed before water filling begins after mining ends around 2036. The project follows similar reclamation efforts in Poland, such as the Tarnobrzeg sulfur‑mine lake, and in neighboring Germany, where former lignite pits have been turned into recreational lakes. PGE expects the water‑filled site to attract visitors from across the country, offering beaches, yacht harbors and potentially unique attractions like submerged excavator displays for divers.

The transformation aims to repurpose a major mining landscape into a lasting environmental and economic asset, aligning with broader efforts to rehabilitate post‑industrial areas in the region.