Coordinates pending verification

Photo «Озеро Прибич» — Регіональний офіс водних ресурсів у Волинській областіCC BY 4.0cropped

Shatsk lake district

Prybych

Прибич

“Shatskyi” Biosphere Reserve; outside the territory of Shatsk National Nature Park

Verified dataset

Key facts

Prybych, half a kilometre west of Smoliary-Svitiazki, is a shallow sapropel water body on the divide between the Western Bug and the Prypiat. It belongs to the “Shatskyi” Biosphere Reserve but lies outside the territory of Shatsk National Nature Park; its area and depth differ between the official record and present-day descriptions because of heavy shoaling and hydromechanical sapropel extraction.

Area: ≈0.243 km²
Maximum depth: 2 m
Average depth: 1.64 m
Shoreline: — km

Water

Published water indicators

Transparency: —
pH: —
Total dissolved solids: —
Dissolved oxygen: —

Trophic state: heavily overgrown and silted shallows; the source assigns no formal trophic class

What to know

Lake in detail

The lake lies in the Prypiat basin on the divide between the Western Bug and the Prypiat, and is ringed by forest along almost its whole perimeter.
The income side of its water balance comes from precipitation, surface run-off and a groundwater flow towards the northern shore; the outgoings are evaporation and subsurface outflow to the south-west and south-east.
The water surface shrank from a historical 39 ha to about 26 ha, the shoreline retreated lakewards by up to 60 m in places, and before deepening the water layer was no more than 1 m.
Hydromechanical sapropel extraction made the lake deeper, but the work was suspended at the start of the full-scale war.
The regional water authority warns that excavating sapropel lowers transparency, alters the gas, temperature and geochemical regimes, and may disturb the communities of macrophytes, phytoplankton and native fauna.
No lake-specific list of fish exists in the verified sources, so the general fish list of the Shatsk district has not been carried over to this profile.

History

Chronology

1984 — сучасний опис
A comparison with material from 1984 showed a reduced inflow of groundwater and stronger subsurface discharge away from the lake.
до 2022
Hydromechanical extraction and processing of sapropel ran for several years, leaving the lake deeper.
від 2022
Sapropel extraction was suspended at the start of the full-scale war.

State and recreation

The lake today

Ecological pressures

Shoaling and heavy overgrowth

A shrinking open water surface, falling water level and spreading wetland vegetation have all but stripped the lake of recreational value and narrowed its aquatic habitats.

historical area 39 ha → about 26 ha; shoreline retreat up to 60 m in places; water layer before deepening ≤ 1 m

Ecosystem disruption during sapropel extraction

Deepening may increase the water mass, but excavation clouds the water for a time and can alter bottom communities, macrophytes, phytoplankton and native fauna.

mean sapropel thickness about 2.8 m; explored reserves about 212,000 t according to the scientific review

Geography and access

Places nearby

All places →

village

Svityaz village

Svityaz is a resort village on the southern and south-eastern shore of the lake of the same name. It is the principal hub for beach access and visitor accommodation around Lake Svitiaz.

Open profile →

Language note

Editorial scope

This English profile carries the full narrative, chronology and local traditions. Source titles stay in their original language, and the Ukrainian page remains the reference version.

Read the Ukrainian profile →

Sources

Source titles are retained in their original language.

Photo «Озеро Прибич» — Регіональний офіс водних ресурсів у Волинській областіCC BY 4.0cropped