Famous pond in Abkhazia has turned into a “rotten lake”
Famous pond polluted in Abkhazia
The famous pond in the resort town of New Athos in Abkhazia has turned into a “rotten lake” — at least, that’s how its current state is being described by Telegram channels. A video shared on social media shows just how polluted the New Athos pond has become.
This artificial pond, alongside the New Athos Monastery, is a symbol of the city and one of Abkhazia’s main tourist attractions.
It is also known as Swan Lake, as both white and black swans live in it.
The pond — or more accurately, a series of interconnected ponds — was created in 1880 by the monks of the New Athos Monastery for everyday use. They dug seven basins about 1.5 meters deep, lined the bottoms with stone tiles, and filled them with water from the Psyrtskha River. The monks bred carp, crucian carp, and trout there. Around the ponds, they planted weeping willows, poplars, and palm trees. In 1908, a park was laid out on the site, designed by architect Shervinsky.
The system was designed so that the ponds remain flowing — and therefore clean. However, they still need to be periodically cleared of accumulated silt. During the Soviet era, this was done once every two years. Now, that frequency is clearly no longer sufficient — the ponds need to be cleaned at least once a year.
According to Roman Dbar, director of the Institute of Ecology of Abkhazia, the problem stems from pollution of the Psyrtskha River due to the discharge of wastewater from resort facilities and the lack of a proper sewage system in New Athos.
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