ABSTRACT
Reservoirs are complex engineering works for water management. They are manmade works realized by damming of water courses, aiming to collect and to store water from the catchments for later use for various purposes. Construction of a reservoir in a river bed constitutes a major intervention upon the hydrologic and hydraulic river system, strongly affecting the natural regime of the flow, sediment transport and river morphology, as well as the environment in all its aspects. Geographically, the reservoirs can be located in littoral, flat plain, hilly, mountainous or gorge regions. The average age of man-made storage reservoirs in the world is estimated to be around 22 years. Within the reservoir basins and in their upstream and downstream reaches as well, several physical, morphological and biological primary processes take place.
