Due to recent bad weather, Lake Serre-Ponçon has too much water, which forced the EDF company to open the dam valves in order to evacuate the water. Consequence: the flow of the Durance increases significantly.
The gates of the Serre-Ponçon dam opened this Saturday, October 19 around 1 p.m. Due to the torrential rains which fell on the region at the beginning of October, EDF was forced to increase the water flow from the Espinasse dam and thus empty the excess water from the lake.
The event occurs for the third time in less than a year due to increasingly heavy and violent rainfall.
From 4m3 to 50m3 per second of water flow
The water flow thus increases from 4m3 per second normally to 50m3 per second, indicates a farmer located below the dam. For him like his colleagues, the opening of the structure is often synonymous with damage to its water intake structures.
Indeed, the flow of the Durance will increase and the river will rise downstream, potentially endangering certain installations. Fortunately at this time of year, most water structures have already been removed in preparation for winter.
If this had not been the case, opening the gates would have had a real cost for farmers, who would have had to incur additional repair costs.
