Tisza Lake water reserves exhausted due to severe drought

The usable water reserves of Tisza Lake have essentially been exhausted due to a prolonged drought and high evaporation rates. The Middle Tisza Water Directorate reported that water levels at Kisköre-felső have approached 610 centimeters, which is the minimum level permitted by water law operating licenses.

In the first eight months of the year, precipitation-based runoff in the Tisza catchment area was only about one-quarter of the historical average. Because the inflow to Tisza Lake has been lower than the volume of water being released toward Szolnok, the reservoir's reserves have been depleted. Previous restrictions on agricultural water use have proven insufficient to mitigate the crisis.

To address the shortage, authorities are implementing emergency measures, including gradually reducing the water level at the Tiszalök dam to 400 centimeters to release stored water to the lower reaches of the Tisza. If the lake reaches the 610-centimeter threshold, water release from Kisköre will be limited to only what enters from the upper reaches to prevent severe ecological damage.

The shortage also threatens the drinking water supply for Szolnok. To prepare for potentially critically low water levels, water management authorities have already deployed mobile pumping stations at the city's surface water intake, recently supplementing them with two electric pumps.