Esch-sur-Sûre Dam
The Esch-sur-Sûre Dam is an arch dam on the River Sauer just upstream of Esch-sur-Sûre in the Wiltz canton of Luxembourg. The primary purpose of the dam and its reservoir, Upper Sûre Lake, is to provide municipal water supply and hydroelectric power generation. The dam is operated jointly by the Administration of Roads and Bridges and the Syndicate des Eaux du Barrage d'Esch-sur-Sûre while the power station is operated by Société Electrique de l'Our.
Background
It was first conceived in the 1950s to help replace nature groundwater resources for the town of Esch-sur-Sûre. Using an André Coyne design, the dam was constructed between 1956 and 1957 and the power station was commissioned in 1963. The reservoir has been drained twice during the dam's life; once in 1969 to install a new fixed water intake and again in 1991 to install and adjustable-arm intake which mitigate issues with algae growth in the reservoir.Dam
The Esch-sur-Sûre is an arch dam with a height of and length of.It is wide at its crest and wide at its base. The dam sits at the head of a catchment area and creates the Upper Sûre Lake which has a total volume of. The lake has a surface area of and is long. It is at it deepest point and the normal elevation is.