Arrocampo Reservoir

About

(This article is a summary translation of Spanish article Embalse de Arrocampo of Wikipedia (es)) The Arrocampo Reservoir, (embalse de Arrocampo or embalse de Arrocampo-Almaraz in Spanish), is located in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain. It was created at 1976 to refrigerate the turbines of the Almaraz Nuclear Power Plant. The nearest municipalities are Almaraz, Romangordo, Saucedilla and Serrejón. The dam is on the Arrocampo River (arroyo Arrocampo), very close to where this little river joins the Tagus.

== The Arrocampo reservoir as system to refrigerate the Almaraz Nuclear Plant ==

The refrigeration of the Almaraz nuclear power plant was the first reason for the construction of the reservoir. The water is taken from the Tagus and cover a U-shaped circuit of 25 km which allows the cooling of the heat generated by the two nuclear reactors of the plant. (See the illustration of the water circulation in Arrocampo) (...) The walls of thermic separation (pantallas de separación térmica in Spanish) (PST) are 11 km long and 8 m high (...). The tops of these walls are used by great cormorants and great egret as standing, resting and sleeping areas.

Biomass (ecology): biomass of reservoir waters is very important on all trophic levels, including Phytoplankton and zooplankton. Fish: Angling is often practiced on weekend and feast days. There are sometimes a lot of recreational fishermen at the principal access to the reservoir, near the local route Almaraz-Saucedilla. Species available include: Carps, Common barbel, Tench (Tinca tinca), Gambusia, Largemouth bass or black bass (this species is very common and the size is often spectacular), European eel. Birds: Before the creation of Arrocampo reservoir (1976), there were a lot of wild birds in lands of Almaraz, Saucedilla. White storks, cattle egrets, lesser kestrels ... are traditional birds of this area. Now there are two special protection areas: one is the parish church of Saucedilla (17 pairs of lesser kestrels on its walls and roofs) and the other one is all the Arrocampo reservoir.

== The Arrocampo reservoir as a Special Protection Area (SPA) for wild birds ==

White stork: nest & reproduction (n & r) Cattle egret: Great cormorant Lesser kestrel: (n & r) Purple heron: (n & r) Squacco heron: (n & r) Little grebe: (r & r)

Great crested grebe: (n & r) Great bittern: (rare) Little bittern: (n & r) Night heron: (n & r) Little egret: (n & r) Great white egret Grey heron: (n & r) Eurasian spoonbill: (n & r)

Greylag goose Egyptian goose: rare Ruddy shelduck: rare Eurasian wigeon Gadwall: (n & r) Common teal Mallard: (n & r) Northern shoveler

Common pochard Tufted duck Black-winged kite: (n & r) Black kite Red kite Marsh harrier Hen harrier Montagus harrier Common buzzard Booted eagle Water rail Spotted crake Little crake Purple swamphen Northern lapwing Sanderling Dunlin Ruff Common snipe Black-tailed godwit Eurasian curlew Common redshank Moorhen Avocet Greenshank Wood sandpiper Common sandpiper Black-headed gull Lesser black-backed gull Gull-billed tern Whiskered tern Common kingfisher: (n & r) European bee-eater: (n & r) Sand martin: (n & r) Red-rumped swallow: (n & r) Yellow wagtail Grey wagtail

Pied wagtail Bluethroat Cetti's warbler: (n & r) Zitting cisticola: (n & r) Savi's warbler: (n & r) Moustached warbler Sedge warbler Reed warbler Great reed warbler Bearded tit: rare Spanish sparrow: (n & r) Avadavat: (n & r) Collared pratincole Little ringed plover European golden plover

The Arrocampo ornithologic park is located in the municipality of Saucedilla, near the reservoir. It was designed by the ornithologist Javier Briz.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.