Water storage possibilities in Lake Baikal and in reservoirs impounded by the dams of the Angara River cascade

The construction of four dams on the Angara River, which flows out from Lake Baikal, has resulted in the creation of the largest water storage system in the world. The first dam is situated 55 km away from the location where the river flows out from Lake Baikal and it impounds the Irkutsk Reservoir holding 2.1 km(3) of water and increasing water level in Lake Baikal. In this manner, the volume of water in the Lake has increased by about 37 km(3). The second dam, which is located at Bratsk, is 125 m high at its maximum, and has caused the flooding of a 570 km-long reach of the Angara River valley. The Bratsk Reservoir can hold 168.2 km(3) of water. The third reservoir, with its dam at Ust-Ilimsk, has a capacity of 58.9 km(3). Outflow across the dam cross-section is about 3,000 m(3) s(-1) of water. This partly serves to fill the fourth reservoir which is currently being constructed, the Boguchany Reservoir, impounded by a dam at Kodinsk. This reservoir will hold 58.2 km(3) of water. Management of this storage is used to prevent floods, but the main objective is to use the reservoirs as sources of hydroelectric power.