The lake is part of the heritage area (Flächendenkmal) of the Lower Harz Pond and Ditch System.

Originally there were four small ponds in a row on the site of the present-day reservoir that had been built for the mining industry.

Originally laid as a drinking water reservoir, the lake is used today for flood and drought protection.

The dam on the original "Lower Kilian Pond" (Unterer Kiliansteich) was about 10 m high and had a retaining capacity of 165,000 m³.

During the course of renovation the old wooden bottom outlet was salvaged on 25 September 1990 as the result on an initiative by Erika and Siegfried Lorenz.