Английская Википедия:Couzon (Gier)
Шаблон:Infobox river The Couzon is a river in the Loire department of France, a tributary of the Gier, which in turn is a tributary of the Rhône. A dam on the river, built to serve as a reservoir for the Givors canal, now provides drinking water to the town of Rive-de-Gier.
Geography
The Couzon drains a basin of Шаблон:Convert at a mean altitude of Шаблон:Convert. It rises in the Pilat massif at an altitude of about Шаблон:Convert.Шаблон:Sfn The river is Шаблон:Convert long. It runs through the communes of Pavezin, Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez, Châteauneuf and Rive-de-Gier. Tributaries are the Ruisseau Boissieux, Grand Valluy and Ruisseau de Chamerle.[1]
Dam
In December 1788 King Louis XVI of France approved construction of a reservoir to supply water to the Givors canal in dry periods. François Zacharie, the canal's builder, had proposed a site for the reservoir high up near Saint-Étienne, but the chosen site was low down on the Couzon near Rive-de-Gier. This short-sighted decision ruled out the plan to continue the canal up to Saint-Etienne via the Janon and then down to the Loire.Шаблон:Sfn The French Revolution (1789–1799) delayed the work, but construction of the Barrage de Couzon (Couzon Dam) was completed in 1811.Шаблон:Sfn The dam was operational by 1812.Шаблон:Sfn It was formally inaugurated on 23 September 1814 by the Comte d'Artois.Шаблон:Sfn
The dam was modeled on the dam built at Saint-Ferriol for the Midi canal.Шаблон:Sfn It has an unusual structure. Three parallel walls are interconnected by buttresses and form the central core.Шаблон:Sfn This is Шаблон:Convert thick and Шаблон:Convert long. Earth banks on each side of the wall provide strength. On the upstream (reservoir) side the earth bank is Шаблон:Convert high, and on the downstream side the bank is Шаблон:Convert high.Шаблон:Sfn Two tunnels run through the embankment at the deepest points. The lower one follows the original course of the river, and is used to remove silt from the reservoir. The upper one has valves where it exits the reservoir. There are two spillways with a combined length of Шаблон:Convert.Шаблон:Sfn
The dam intercepts water from a basin of Шаблон:Convert with an average elevation of Шаблон:Convert.Шаблон:Sfn Initially the dam was capable of containing Шаблон:Convert of water.Шаблон:Sfn Today the dam has a capacity of Шаблон:Convert.Шаблон:Sfn In 1880, when the canal company went bankrupt, the dam was converted into a source of drinking water for the inhabitants of Rive-de-Gier.Шаблон:Sfn It delivers Шаблон:Convert per second of water.Шаблон:Sfn The water serves 95% of the municipality of Rive-de-Gier, part of Châteauneuf, and since 2005 St-Martin-le-Plain and St. Joseph. As of 2010 19,678 people relied on the dam for water, as well as various industrial users such as Industeel.Шаблон:Sfn
Other uses
A stretch of Шаблон:Convert below the dam is used for kayaking.Шаблон:Sfn
Gallery
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Route de Couzon in Rive-de-Gier start of the 20th century
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Reservoir of the Couzon dam in November 2008
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Country around the Couzon dam in August 2008
References
Citations Шаблон:Reflist Sources Шаблон:Refbegin
- Шаблон:Cite web
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- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite journalШаблон:Dead link
