Gileppe Dam
Gileppe Dam | ||
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Annual generation 3.3 million kWh[10] | |
The Gileppe Dam (French Barrage de la Gileppe) is an
Background
Gileppe Dam bridge | |
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Coordinates | 50°35′16″N 5°58′28″E / 50.5878°N 5.9744°E |
Carries | foot traffic;[15] no longer open for vehicles |
Characteristics | |
Width | 1878: roadway 7m, footway 4m on each side[16] |
Location | |
In the 19th century, the dam was built to ensure the
The main function of the Gileppe Dam in the 21st century is to provide drinking water. As these needs are met, surplus water is turbinated.[23] In 1997, the Gileppe Dam produced 3,255,525 cubic metres of drinking water.[24] Although capacity is small, the Vesdre basin is one of the few places in Belgium to produce hydropower.[23]
Planning and design
The
Bidaut was influenced in particular by dams at
Original construction
Work began in 1868 and continued for ten years.[33] The dam was built by a crew of masons numbering from 80 to 100, under the direction of eight to ten foremen.[34]
Before the foundations were laid, two subterranean channels were dug, one on each side, through which the Gileppe river was diverted during construction. Afterward, these became conduits for cast-iron outlet pipes used to draw water from two 2.8m-diameter wells placed in the reservoir.
The foundations were sunk to a depth of 1 meter into the rock. The wall was constructed of
It was remarked as late as 1907 that "the average yearly work of over 54,000 cubic yards has probably never been surpassed in the construction of any other single structure." The daily work per man averaged 2.6 to 3.2 cubic yards (1.98–2.44 cubic meters).[35]
Flood waters were released through two overflow weirs, 25 meters wide (82 feet), situated 2 meters (6.58 feet) below the crown and following the slopes of the hillside.[37]
The dam was inaugurated 28 July 1878 by King Leopold II.[5]
Leakage and reservoir acidity
When the reservoir was first filled, water leaked through the dam at a rate of about 5,300 gallons a day. Although the leakage slowed, four years later moisture could still be observed on the downstream face.[38]
The profile was criticized as overengineered. An estimated 75 percent of its masonry was considered "useless,"[38] in contrast to the "scientific design" of the Furens Dam. This overbuilding was attributed to "a great timidity on the part of the Belgian engineers, who were fully impressed with the great body of water they were going to store … and the calamity the failure of the dam would cause."[39] While recognizing that the amount of water the Gileppe dam would retain far exceeded that of its predecessors at Alicante and Furens, the engineers themselves also maintained that they were allowing for a heightening of the dam in future, should the need arise for greater storage.[40] By the 1960s, it had been decided that the dam did indeed require an increase of height. From 1967 to 1971, it was raised by a little over 16 meters. The dam was reinaugurated 20 October 1971 under King Baudouin.
The high acidity of the reservoir water corroded the original 19th-century lead pipes and led to
The lion
The dam was topped by a
Selected bibliography
- M. Bodnon, E. Detienne, F. LeClercq, "Le Barrage de la Gileppe," Revue universelle des mines, de la métallurgie, de travaux publics 39 (1876) 610–650, full text online.
- Easton Devonshire, "The Gileppe Dam," Transactions of the British Association of Waterworks Engineers 9 (1904) 262–270. Detailed description (in English) of the works, based on Bodnon, Detienne, and LeClercq.
- Abstract in English translation of Bodson, Detienne, and LeClercq in Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers 48 (1877), pp. 312–314.
- Edward Wegmann, The Design and Construction of Dams (New York, 1907, 5th ed.).
- Informational sign at the dam.
Further reading
- Paul Delforge, "Le Barrage de la Gileppe: Un financement des industriels, de la ville our de l'état?" Belgisch tijdschrift voor nieuwste geschiedenis-Revue belge d'histoire contemporaine17 (1986) 163–186.
References
- ^ a b Structurae, Gileppe Dam
- ^ M. Bodnon, E. Detienne, F. LeClercq, "Le Barrage de la Gileppe," Revue universelle des mines, de la métallurgie, de travaux publics 39 (1876), p. 650.
- ^ Estimate in dollars by Wegmann, p. 82.
- ^ Estimate in pounds given by Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers 48 (1877), p. 314.
- ^ a b Structurae, Gileppe Dam; Wegmann, Design and Construction of Dams, p. 81, give a height of 47 metres (154.2 feet) for the original structure.
- ^ According to Structurae. The crest length of the original construction is given as 235 metres (771 feet) and base length as 82 metres (269 feet) by Edward Wegmann, The Design and Construction of Dams (New York, 1907, 5th ed.), p. 81.
- ^ Wegmann gives 15 metres (49.22 feet) for the width at the top and 65.82 metres (216.5 feet) at the base
- ^ Belgian Tourist Office: Wallonia and Brussels, Gileppe Dam. The original capacity was 12,000,000m3, according to Easton Devonshire, "The Gileppe Dam," Transactions of the British Association of Waterworks Engineers 9 (1904), p. 270.
- ^ Originally the reservoir covered 80 hectares, according to Devonshire, Transactions, p. 270.
- ^ a b Historique du Barrage de la Gileppe
- ^ David P. Billington and Donald C. Jackson, Big Dams of the New Deal Era: A Confluence of Engineering and Politics (University of Oklahoma Press, 2006), p. 34 online.
- ^ R.S. Kirby, P.G. Laurson, The Early Years of Modern Civil Engineering (Yale University Press, 1932), p. 209.
- ^ Easton Devonshire, "The Gileppe Dam," Transactions of the British Association of Waterworks Engineers 9 (1904), p. 263 online, quoting a report to the Belgian government by the project's chief engineer.
- ^ David Aubin and Frédéric Varone, EUwareness Case Study Report 1: Vesdre River Basin, Belgium (Université Catholique de Louvain, 2002), pp. 7 and 15.
- ^ Including the Gileppe Trophy triathlon route.
- ^ Devonshire, Transactions, p. 624.
- ^ John McFarlane, Economic Geography (London, 1937), p. 94 online.
- ^ Abstract in English translation of M. Bodson, E. Detienne, and F. LeClercq (see Selected bibliography) in Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers 48 (1877), p. 312, henceforth cited as Minutes.
- ^ Aubin and Varone, p. 23.
- ^ Monsieur Bidaut's first name remains elusive in the sources.
- ^ Minutes p. 312, converting amounts given in cubic yards to cubic metres.
- ^ Minutes p. 312.
- ^ a b Aubin and Varone, p. 18.
- ^ Aubin and Varone, p. 15.
- ^ Devonshire, Transactions, p. 262 online.
- ^ M. Bodnon, E. Detienne, F. LeClercq, "Le Barrage de la Gileppe," Revue universelle des mines, de la métallurgie, de travaux publics 39 (1876), pp. 615–616.
- ^ The first names of these engineers are not recorded in the sources used for this article; J. Huberty, "L'Hertogenwald belge: le Barrage de la Gileppe, les Hautes fagnes," Bulletin de la Société Centrale Forestiére de Belgique 3 (1896), p. 66.
- ^ a b Devonshire, Transactions, p. 263.
- ^ Bodnon, Detienne, LeClercq, pp. 613, 632 online.
- ^ Big Dams, p. 304, note 73, summarizing Smith, History of Dams 205-6.
- ^ Donald C. Jackson, Building the Ultimate Dam: John S. Eastwood and the Control of Water in the West (University of Oklahoma Press, 2005), pp. 22–23 online.
- ^ Devonshire, Transactions, p. 262.
- ^ Huberty, "L'Hertogenwald belge," Bulletin, p. 66.
- ^ Edward Wegmann, The Design and Construction of Dams (New York, 1907, 5th ed.), p. 81.
- ^ a b c Wegmann, p. 81.
- ^ a b Devonshire, Transactions p. 264.
- ^ Wegmann, p. 82; Devonshire, Transactions, p. 264.
- ^ a b Wegmann, p. 82.
- ^ Wegmann, p. 82; Minutes, pp. 312–313.
- ^ Overbuilding discussed at length by Bodnon, Detienne, LeClercq, pp. 632ff., with mathematical computations; possibility of extending the height at p. 642. See also Wegmann, p. 82.
- ^ Aubin and Varone, pp. 23–24.