Reservoir Voronegskoe was formed on the River Voronege at 5.5 km upstream from its confluence with the River Don, based on the "Sojuzvodocanal Project" worked out by the State Designing Research Institute. It was put into operation in June 1972 by the State Committee of RSFSR Ministry of Land Improvement and Water Supply. The total cost of the reservoir was 27.5 million rubles.

The reservoir was mainly intended to reserve groundwater to be supplied to the city of Voronege, and has successfully served as the reliable source of industrial and municipal water for the city. It also provides irrigation water to its catchment area and recreation sites and architectural beauty for urban residents.

This shallow reservoir is 35 km long, and is divided into five sections according to their morphology and hydrodynamics. Dam Section I is the widest and the deepest (mean depth 4.3 m and maximum depth 12 m). There, the height of wind wave may reach 1.3 m, while the annual mean current velocity is the least (0.8 cm sec 1). The mean depth is only 1.9 m in Section V, where the wave height is less than 0.5 m and the mean current velocity amounts to 1.6 cm sec 1. Shallows less than 1 m in water depth cover 16% of the total reservoir area, being mostly distributed in Section V as well as along the left bank and in bays of other sections. The transitional zone of medium depth (from 1 m to the lower limit of macrophyte growth 5 m) accounts for 64% of the reservoir surface and for 91% of its volume.

The catchment area is densely populated and used for industry and agriculture. There are large industrial centers such as Voronege and Lipetsk along the R. Voronege and a lot of towns, villages and residential areas (1, 2, 3, 4).