The Joaoru recreation area was flooded for the second time in a month on Thursday after a lock gate was opened on the Russian side of the border, where the Ivangorod hydroelectric power station is situated. Three locks had been opened earlier this month.

The Narva reservoir gates are usually opened in spring or autumn, but for this to happen in the middle of July is exceptional, and the result of this year's rainy summer. The high rainfall means the Narva River has enough of a flow to serve both electricity production and to refill an older part of the river bed. The ensuing "Narva waterfalls" bring spectators from far and wide.

One, Erkki, had traveled from Tartu to see the waterfalls, which he estimated as: "Powerful, powerful. Actually, it used to be even more powerful. We've been here before, but only saw the empty bed. We thought we had to come and see it."

A tour of the nearby Kreenholm island was noteworthy for the amount of water surrounding it. As for how long this will remain the case: "Nobody knows. Not me, not our director, nobody knows anything about that," said Klim Klimenko, curator of educational programs at the Narva Museum.

"Maybe the meteorologists know what's coming. But as of today, you can see and enjoy these views," he added.

The Narva reservoir dam directs water to the hydroelectric power plant in Ivangorod, but the sluice gates are opened at times of high water levels, allowing the river to follow its historical course for a time. The rest of the time that river bed is mostly dry. And this allows the Narva River to flow into its historical bed.
The chief of police in Narva noted this was a "standard procedure."

The Narva hydroelectric plant has been running at full capacity for several weeks. When the lock gates were opened in early July, excess water flooded the entire Joaoru recreation zone, adjacent to the river, prompting authorities in Narva to issue a warning against visiting the area. Fears of a repeat of this on Friday did not materialize.

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