The water is 3.1 m deep on average with a maximum about 5 m. There are a number of recreational attractions along the edge of the lake including: The lake also has one of the oldest man-made rowing venues in Europe - The Malta Regatta Course.

This dates back to 1952 and has held a number of Rowing World Cup events.

It also hosted the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in 1990 and 2001, and did so again in 2010.

The lake was built on land owned by Church of St. John of Jerusalem Outside the Walls, given to the order in 1187 by duke Mieszko III the Old.

Because of the importance of the lake for the city of Poznań, various methods to improve its water quality have been investigated.