A famous lake in Romania’s Banat Mountains will nearly run dry. Why Trei Ape is being drained under control

Lake Trei Ape in the Semenic Mountains is set to be almost emptied this autumn, six decades after it was built. The controlled drainage will allow repairs to the hydromechanical equipment at the dam.

PPC Renewables Romania, which operates the hydroelectric facility, announced in May that the process would begin in September 2026. The work was scheduled in stages after the summer tourist season, with the aim of limiting its effect on tourism and local economic activity around Gărâna and Brebu Nou, also known by their German name, Wolfsberg.

The company said the first stage would replace accessible hydromechanical equipment. The second will begin the controlled emptying of the Timiș Trei Ape reservoir. During repairs to the equipment serving the bottom outlet, the water level will remain at the minimum permitted elevation in October and November. Gradual refilling is due to start in November 2026 and is expected to take about 105 calendar days, depending on weather and incoming water flows.

Drought and siltation have repeatedly changed the lake’s appearance in recent years. Broad sections of the banks and the old reservoir bed have been left exposed. Major intervention is now needed after roughly 50 years of operation.

Built in the 1960s at an altitude of 850 metres, the reservoir covers more than 50 hectares. Its dam was the first in Romania built with rockfill and a clay core. The reservoir collects water from the Grădiște, Semenic and Brebu streams, which form the Timiș River, one of western Romania’s longest rivers.

Trei Ape was once a popular destination for workers’ families from the mountain Banat region, visitors from Timișoara and tourists from Serbia. A resident of Brebu Nou recalled summers when the lakefront and nearby pastures were crowded with people, while the village has since become quieter as the lake has dried further.

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I remember the summers when the area from the lakeshore to the pastures in Brebu Nou was full of people laying out blankets and tents, with some even staying behind our house, since our village is right at the edge of the lake. Year by year, the village became more deserted, and the number of tourists fell as the lake dried out more and more.