Kelbra Dam

Kelbra Dam
The Kelbra Reservoir.
Location of Kelbra Dam in Germany
Official name	Talsperre Kelbra
Country	Germany
Location	Saxony-Anhalt
Coordinates	51°26′08″N 10°59′37″E / 51.43556°N 10.99361°E / 51.43556; 10.99361Coordinates: 51°26′08″N 10°59′37″E / 51.43556°N 10.99361°E / 51.43556; 10.99361
Construction began	1962
Opening date	1966
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	Embankment dam
Impounds	Helme
Height	12.7 m (42 ft)
Length	4,066 m (13,340 ft)
Width (crest)	5 m (16 ft)
Dam volume	860,000 m3 (30,000,000 cu ft)
Spillway capacity	277 m3/s (9,782 cu ft/s)
Reservoir
Creates	Kelbra Reservoir
Total capacity	35,600,000 m3 (28,900 acre·ft)
Catchment area	677.4 km2 (262 sq mi)
Surface area	600 ha (6 km2)

The Kelbra Dam (German: Talsperre Kelbra) is a dam on the River Helme in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. Behind the dam is the lake known as the Kelbra Reservoir (Stausee Kelbra) or Kelbra Flood Retention Basin (Hochwasserrückhaltebecken Kelbra).

The dam was built to provide flood protection and its reservoir collects the waters of the Harz flowing into the southern Harz Foreland via the River Helme and its tributaries. The reservoir lake stores water for irrigation and is used for angling and recreation. Both dam and lake are operated jointly and cooperatively by the Thuringian Long Distance Water Supply (Thüringer Fernwasserversorgung) and the Saxony-Anhalt Dam Company (Talsperrenbetrieb von Sachsen-Anhalt).

The Kelbra Dam was built from 1962 to 1966 between Berga and Kelbra in the region known as the Goldene Aue between Nordhausen in the west and Sangerhausen in the east. It is located in the district of Mansfeld-Südharz (Saxony-Anhalt) on the northwestern end of the Kyffhäuser hills. It is only a few kilometres from the border with the state of Thuringia and impounds the river system of the Helme into the Kelbra Reservoir.

Its main and auxiliary barriers are earth-fill dams made of gravel and binding material (Erdstoffen). Both have a sloping internal grout curtain of clay on the water side.