Water levels in the UNESCO-listed Lake Srebarna are showing signs of recovery, Environment Minister Manol Genov told Parliament during Question Time on Friday. He took a question from a Socialist MP regarding the critically low levels in the lake and the threat to rare species living there.
The freshwater lake is at the heart of a nature reserve that also includes former agricultural lands north of the lake, a belt of forest plantations along the Danube, the island of Komluka and the aquatic area locked between the island and the riverbank, according to the UNESCO listing details. It lies 1 km south of the Danube and extends over 600 ha. It is the breeding ground of almost 100 species of birds, many of which are rare or endangered. Some 80 other bird species migrate and seek refuge there every winter. Among the most interesting bird species are the Dalmatian pelican, great egret, night heron, purple heron, glossy ibis and white spoonbill.
It was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983.
Srebarna Lake was the first wetland in Bulgaria to receive legal protection status and also the first to achieve international recognition. The lake was designated as reserve in 1948 to protect the diversity of birds it hosts. According to the 1998 law dealing with protected areas in Bulgaria, the property is classified as a "Managed Reserve", being exclusively State property. Management and control are carried out by the Ministry of Environment and Water and its regional departments.
Over the past two months, the region around the village of Srebarna in Silistra Municipality experienced extreme temperatures -- with highs up to 43°C and minimal rainfall -- along with near-zero water levels in the Danube River, which naturally supplies the lake. These conditions led to a critical drop in water levels in the lake and dried out peripheral water areas, said the Minister.
He explained that the lake depends on both surface and underground hydraulic connections with the Danube. It can only be replenished when the river's water level is higher than that of the lake. In response to the ecological threat, the Environment Ministry initiated a series of emergency and long-term conservation measures. These include the installation of hydro-technical equipment to restore water levels, improve water quality, and preserve habitats for protected bird species. Since July 2, with help from the Ministry of Interior, two water-pumping units have been transferring Danube water into the lake. The continuous pumping has already produced visible results, preventing the lake's complete drying up, said the Minister.
He recalled that the lake had not received Danube water since 2023, and that the summer of 2025 brought unusually prolonged low water levels in the Danube, prompting crisis intervention.