Lac de Bouzey
Water depth: 20 m
The reservoir Bouzey ( Réservoir de Bouzey ) is located about ten kilometers west of Epinal, on the western edge of the Vosges mountains in the French department of Vosges. The reservoir with a surface area of about 140 hectares is the constant water supply of the Canal des Vosges (until 2003: Canal de L' Est) and is located on the territory of the municipalities Sanchey, Chaumousey, Girancourt and Renauvoid. He is still in front of the Lac de Gerardmer, the largest body of water in the department of Vosges.
The water supply to the reservoir takes place through the natural, coming from the south and southwest inflows (including the Avière 2.5 km in length ) and by the 42 kilometer Canal d' Alimentation du reservoir de Bouzey. It branches in the municipality of Saint- Étienne- lès- Remiremont from near Remiremont from the upper Moselle and over - or under crosses on his course on the left bank of the Moselle along 114 tunnels or bridges. Excess, needed for the summit level water is discharged through the river Avière, which flows into the Moselle after 28 kilometers run length near Nomexy.
The dam
The dam was built from 1879 to 1882 in Epinal and Belfort in the Vosges to supply the Canal de L' Est and put into operation in 1880. It was founded on sandstone, but not deep enough to viable rock. She was a gravity dam made of masonry. It then did not have the necessary knowledge of the statics of dams. The wall was calculated wrong by today's standards and therefore advised far too slim. On the water side you put on a 2 m thick layer to seal the wall. This is likely but hardly worked, penetrating water generated buoyant forces under the wall.
Structural damage
Already in 1884 there was damage caused by leachate. Probably this penetrated through cracks that were caused by tensile stresses. The wall slid then on 15 March 1884 on 135 m length on a horizontal layer of clay by up to 280 mm downhill. It produced some damage, but there were no fatalities. The wall was then curved and had received numerous cracks. This attempt was unsuccessful seal. 1888, the wall was reinforced at the bottom part to prevent slipping further. However, they remained in the upper part without reinforcement and very slim. She was also rounded strongly concave on the air side.
The disaster
On April 27, 1895 ( occasionally April 25, 1895 is called ) the dam was fully impounded in a flood. Due to the stress flipped the wall over a length of 171 m and a height of 12 m around in one piece. The number of people killed by the tsunami is different indicated at 86, 87, 90, 100, 150 or even 200, the damage has been significant, the villages Sanchey, Uxegney and Domèvre -sur- Avière and parts of Chaumousey at the headwaters of Avière were on most destroyed, Oncourt, Frizon and finally the industrial community Nomexy where the tsunami occurred in the Moselle Valley, were affected.
In France, there was until now only one other case of dams disaster, namely the misfortune of Malpasset ( Fréjus ) on 2 December 1959.
Today's state
The dam was rebuilt, the lake serves to be the supply of the Canal des Vosges. An earthquake on 22 February 2003, the dam again somewhat affected, the consequences are examined. Today the lake on its practical significance addition also has a high recreational value. There is a restaurant and a campsite on the shore, a sailing school is available and there are bathing. A 15 km long cycle path leading from the harbor and the town of Epinal, for the inhabitants of the lake is a recreational area.