The Sofia Municipality continues the active implementation of the civic project "South Park Lakes", which has become one of the emblems of the shared budgeting program "Ideas for the City". The current activities of the teams are aimed at the complete restoration of the original appearance and functionality of the artificial lakes, which are designed to be built as a single, connected cascade system.
„The goal of "Ideas for the City" is precisely this - to give a real tool in the hands of Sofia residents, with which they can determine the priorities and changes in their neighborhoods. The South Park Lakes Project is yet another proof that this model works successfully. Together with the authors of the idea, the ecologists and the Public Council, we are showing how our city can develop in a modern, transparent and respectful way. The city belongs to the people and we are here to implement their ideas in the best way possible,” said Sofia Mayor Vasil Terziev.
The cleaning activities of the first on the list – “Nameless Lake 4” – are already entering their final stage and next week it will be completely ready. Thanks to the precise removal of long-standing sediments, its total water capacity has been increased almost threefold, which will guarantee good circulation and optimal water level. In parallel, the teams also completely cleaned the authentic stone channel that connects “Nameless Lake 4” with “Nameless Lake 6”. When the first lake reaches the required level, the water will naturally overflow through the restored channel directly to the next water mirror.
At the same time, the cleaning of the “Dark Lake“ has also started. Due to the ecological sensitivity of this area, heavy equipment is not used, and the teams of the OP “Parks and Gardens“ and the Water and Sewerage Department are removing the fallen large branches and trunks entirely by hand. This approach allows the existing natural biotopes to be fully preserved. Next week, the accumulated silt and fallen leaves will be sucked out, as well as the cleaning of the natural spring that feeds the lake. In this way, its original flow rate will be restored so that it can overflow cleanly into “Nameless Lake 4“ and begin to feed the entire water circuit, just as the system was originally built.
Information signs have already been installed in the South Park, which are located in the activity areas. Their goal is to provide park visitors with detailed information about what exactly is being done on site, what technology is being used to clean the reservoirs, and how the park's biodiversity is being specifically protected.
All current steps are being carried out in strict compliance with the recommendations in the environmental report prepared by the NIS at Sofia University specifically for the purposes of the project. The actual hard work in the remaining reservoirs will begin smoothly only after August 15, so as not to disturb birds and other species, and until then the habitats of rare wild orchids and marked biotope trees will remain completely fenced and protected. The process is being monitored directly on site by the program's chief coordinator, Lyubomir Bogdanov, and the created Public Council for Civil Control with the participation of the author of the project, Zhoro Angelov, one of the main initiators of the campaign – Alexander Tsernorechki, as well as experts from WWF Bulgaria, BSPB and the association “Balkanka“.
For the purposes of the project and for easier coordination of the teams in the field, temporary names are used for some of the sites, such as “The Island with the Papurites“, “The Hidden Lake“ and “The Duck Tale“. Some of them are known by these names among the local community, but not all water bodies have popular names. The Public Council and the Sofia Municipality emphasize that these are not the official names of the lakes. When the activities progress and the final stage of the project approaches, a joint campaign will be organized to select permanent names together with the citizens. All proposals will be subject to open voting, after which the officially selected ones will be submitted for approval by the Sofia Municipal Council.