The reservoir, 49 km long, was constructed in 1969–1973, primarily to satisfy the demands of local irrigated farming.

Later on, another irrigation canal – the Chernyye Zemli Main Canal (Черноземельский магистральный канал, Chernozemelsky magistralny kanal) was built, taking water from the Chogray Reservoir further east and north, into Kalmykia.

[3] Under certain conditions the waters are polluted by blooms of toxic cyanobacteria (blue-gree algae).

[citation needed] As the East Manych (and, thus, the Chogray Reservoir) is not connected in a navigable way with any other body of water (although that may change if the Eurasia Canal is constructed), delivering a boat, or any other large floating installation to the Chogray Reservoir would be a non-trivial task.

Such an operation was undertaken in 1976, when two large floating pumping units, weighing 320 and 280 metric tons, respectively, had to be delivered to the reservoir for use by the local irrigators.