Lake of Lavaud, Artificial reservoir in Pressignac, France

Lake of Lavaud is an artificial reservoir in Pressignac that spans multiple municipalities including Lésignac-Durand. The water body offers designated swimming areas with buoys, sandy beaches, restaurants, and a nautical facility for water sports and recreation.

The dam was constructed in 1989 to create this artificial lake and manage water levels during dry periods in the Charente region. The project addressed the need for better water security in this farming area.

Two beaches opened at the end of 1989: La Guerlie at Pressignac, backed by mayor André Soury, and La Chassagne at Videix, backed by mayor André Giry. Each has a buoyed swimming zone, a sand strip and a bar-restaurant-snack; gîtes followed at La Chassagne, and the Côte de Bœuf restaurant and Camping des Lacs at La Guerlie. The near-identical facilities set the two communes in competition.

The D 160 from Verneuil to Pressignac crosses the lake near the La Guerlie beach, so the two shores are reached by road on either side of the water. The upper basin holds the two beaches, La Guerlie and La Chassagne, with a campsite, gîtes and a boat and windsurf rental. Bathing at La Chassagne has been closed at times since 2016 because of cyanobacteria; La Guerlie, fed by the Charente, has stayed open.

South of the hamlet of Lavaud, a small outcrop of impact breccia from the Rochechouart-Chassenon crater lies about 3 km from the main ejecta blanket at Videix, extending the known radius of the roughly 200-million-year-old crater.