A shallow reservoir on the Brynica from 1935-1939, a water intake for the Upper Silesian conurbation and a refuge for birds.
Kozłowa Góra, also known as the Świerklaniec Reservoir or Lake Świerklaniec, is an artificial lake on the Brynica river on the northern edge of the Upper Silesian conurbation. It was built in 1935-1939, and today it serves mainly as a water reservoir for the region.
Construction began in 1935 and was completed at the turn of 1938 and 1939; the designer was the engineer Jan Stonawski. The reservoir also had a defensive purpose: the water was intended to flood the Brynica valley and create an obstacle in front of the “Silesia” Fortified Area. Fortification structures in the area of Kozłowa Góra and Świerklaniec have survived to this day. The plan was not used in the September 1939 campaign. In 1948-1951 the reservoir was adapted to supply water to part of the Upper Silesian conurbation.
At the normal impoundment level the lake has an area of about 5.5 km², a length of about 3.6 km and an average width of about 1.5 km. It is shallow: the average depth is about 2.4 m and the greatest about 4.5 m. The shoreline is about 12.5 km long.
The northern part with the mouth of the Brynica is richest in vegetation, with reedbeds, rushes and wet meadows. Around the reservoir about 202 bird species have been recorded, including 78 breeding species. Among the species that breed or are observed in the breeding season are the bittern, kingfisher, marsh harrier, black-necked grebe and whiskered tern. Beavers and otters are also seen here. Birds are best observed with respect for the rules of nature protection, especially in the breeding season.
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