About fifty years ago, the region now dominated by the placid waters of Lake Plastira used to be the “Great Plain” – the plateau of Nevropolis. Through this “plain” flowed the Tavropos river (known in Slavic as Megdovas), a tributary of the Acheloos River,.
The creation of the lake was originally an idea conceived by Nikolaos Plastiras. The idea was first proposed in the early decades of the last century, in an era when both the technical capabilities and the attitudes of pre-war Greece were limited. According to Apostolos Koutsokostas, in 1925, while Plastiras was vacationing at the monastery of Korona, he conceived of the idea of setting up a holiday village in the “Alonia” site of Pezoula, along with the construction of a water dam in the “Kakavakia” site for the creation of an artificial lake, for the purposes of irrigation and energy generation. Of course, many claim that Plastiras conceived of this idea earlier, at the time when he was attending the Military Officers’ Academy (1910-1912) .
During Easter of 1927, Plastiras organized the first visit by experts at the site where the dam stands today. Thereafter, and until his death, Plastiras zealously advocated for the project, emphasizing the various national benefits that would ensue. In the summer of 1928, he made a second visit for the same reason, led by the hydraulic structures expert Gennoudios, who was enthusiastic about the idea.
The first study for the project was published in May of 1929, and was called Senn, in honor of the Swiss hydraulics science specialist Louis Senn. An additional study was carried out in 1932 by the engineer Syrakos, concerning the irrigation works. The period after 1932 was characterized by intense political upheaval and the resurgence of the National Division (between E. Venizelos and King Constantine I), which effectively eliminated any prospect of the project being constructed. Finally, in 1951, during Plastiras’ term as prime minister, the project was included in the national technical program. On March 3, 1952, the hydroelectric study was assigned to the company KNAPPEN PRRETTS ABBET ENGINEERING CO.
