Barrage de Notre-Dame-de-Commiers, Gravity dam near Notre-Dame-de-Commiers, France
Barrage de Notre-Dame-de-Commiers is a 41-metre-high gravity dam of earth and rockfill on the Drac, 350 metres long at its crest and 230 metres thick at the base. Its concrete spillway and teal-posted gate structure stand at the right bank, with a rock embankment sloping above. The dam holds the 34 hm³ Lac de Notre-Dame-de-Commiers.
Work on the dam began in 1960 and finished in 1964, when the reservoir was filled. It was the last of the large dams built across the bed of the Drac. Its 2 MW generating unit still produces electricity.
The dam marks the upstream boundary of the Réserve naturelle régionale des Isles du Drac, a regional nature reserve that follows the Drac for 15 km downstream. The reservoir, Lac de Notre-Dame-de-Commiers, reaches 4.8 km in length and covers 165 hectares. Its banks lie in the communes of Notre-Dame-de-Commiers and Saint-Martin-de-la-Cluze.
The dam marks the upstream boundary of the Réserve naturelle régionale des Isles du Drac, which follows the Drac for 15 km downstream. Since July 2017 the reserved flow released below the dam has been 5.5 m³/s instead of 1.5 m³/s, restoring hydraulic continuity. The crest is 350 m long and 10 m wide at the top, so the walk across it is level and open.
The dam marks the upstream boundary of the Réserve naturelle régionale des Isles du Drac, which follows the river for 15 km. In July 2017 the minimum flow released downstream rose from 1.5 to 5.5 m³/s to restore hydraulic continuity along the Drac.
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