About Tauernmoossee Dam

The Tauernmoossee is a relatively small but strategically placed reservoir in the Stubachtal valley of Salzburg, completed in 1988 at 1,684 metres above sea level. The 28-metre rockfill dam stores 13 million cubic metres and acts as the upper collecting basin for the Stubachwerk hydropower scheme operated by Salzburg AG. The reservoir collects snowmelt and runoff from the Granatspitzgruppe, a section of the Hohe Tauern known for its garnet deposits — the Stubachtal is sometimes called 'Garnet Valley'. Water flows through underground galleries to the Enzingerboden reservoir below and ultimately to the Uttendorf powerhouse in the Salzach valley. The reservoir lies within the Hohe Tauern National Park, Austria's largest protected area, and its construction required careful environmental planning. The Tauernmoossee contributes to the seasonal regulation of the Stubache tributary, reducing peak flood risk downstream while enabling year-round power generation from a catchment with some of Austria's highest snowfall totals.