About the lake

• Tiltlejas Mill Lake is one of three lakes created by damming the River Abuls. The water reservoir is located in the northern part of Smiltene, between Rūpniecības Street and Ezera Street. On the eastern side of the reservoir lies the city’s allotment garden area, while the western side is bordered by the P25 road (Rūpniecības Street), and on the southern part, there is a marshy section of the River Abuls.
• During the low-water period in the summer, the average depth varies from 0.5 to 2.5 m depending on the distance from the sluices; near the sluices, it reaches 2.5 m, while in the southern part, it ranges from 0.5 to 2.2 m.
• The terrain around the reservoir is diverse, but compared to the shoreline relief of Lake Vidusezers and Lake Teperis, it is relatively flat. Upstream, or in the southern part, the banks are especially flat and wet. In this area, pronounced accumulation of sludge can be observed, indicated by extensive overgrowth along the shoreline.
• Lake Tiltleja is a eutrophic water reservoir, characterised by high potential fish productivity. The water reservoir’s vegetation includes plant species typical of Latvian eutrophic lakes, such as reeds, horsetails, cattails, sweet flag, yellow water lilies, pondweeds, arrowheads, elodea, bur-reeds, bladderworts, water-weeds, and water buttercups.
• In the northern part of the reservoir, there are former watermills, rebuilt in 1972. Until the restoration of Latvia’s independence, they housed the weaving workshop of the Smiltene Services Complex.
• Historically, the hydroelectric power station on Lake Tiltleja was one of the first HPPs built in the Baltics. Stations with a similar design were also constructed on sections of the River Abuls near the Vidusezers and Teperis lakes. Before the reconstruction of the Lake Teperis dam in 2015, Lake Tiltleja often flooded in spring, with water washing over Ezera and Rūpniecības streets, which also function as part of the dam.

The starting point of the cycling route “The Green Way”, Smiltene – Trikāta – Valmiera – Ainaži, is located by Lake Tiltleja. A stop with benches and an information map has been installed here.

 

This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union within the Green Palette project. Smiltene Municipality is fully responsible for its content, and it may not reflect the opinion of the European Union.