Lake Pournari and Kato Kalentini
The artificial lake on the Arachthos between Arta and the Tzoumerka, and the settlement of Fagos that re-emerged in 2024.
- River
- Arachthos
- Lake area
- 18.3 km²
- Dams
- Pournari I and II
- Uses
- Flood protection, water supply, irrigation, power
- Nearby
- Peta, Kato Kalentini
Lake Pournari is an artificial lake on the Arachthos, between Arta and the Tzoumerka. It helps prevent flooding in Arta and supplies water to much of Epirus. The town of Peta lies near the dam. The main dam is called Pournari I, and a smaller dam, Pournari II, was built below it so that the river runs all year.
Some sources call it the second-largest dam in Greece after Mornos, but figures for its size and dates differ from source to source, so I do not state them. The lake covers about 18.3 square kilometres and is also used for irrigating the plain and for power.
Kato Kalentini and Fagos
Ano Kalentini is the seat of the municipality of Georgios Karaiskakis. The settlement of Fagos belongs to the village of Kato Kalentini, and the waters of the dam “swallowed” it in the early 1980s, when its residents moved to higher ground. In 2024, in a drought, the water level fell and people saw again the ruins of stone houses, a school half covered in mud and tree trunks. According to residents it was the first time this had happened. The settlement once had seven shops, and its school served 120 pupils.
