It was the first modern dam and reservoir complex (German: Talsperre) to be built in the Harz[1] and was constructed by the Harzwasserwerke between 1928 and 1931.

In 1933 construction began on a long-distance water pipe from the Söse reservoir, whose northern branch goes as far as Bremen.

Today it mainly supplies towns and communities in the Hildesheim and Hanover areas.

The main barrier is an earth-fill dam with a central concrete core and clay sealing.

The Söse Reservoir has a pre-dam (Vorsperre) upstream, which is 200 m long and 20 m high and has a volume of 0.75 million m³.