Fatou Dam Removal

Beaume river (upper Loire bassin), Haute-Loire, France, 2007

The outdated Fatou dam was dismantled during the winter of 2007. It was situated on the Loire tributary La Beaume in the community of Solignac-sur-Loire (20 km south of the town le Puy en Velay), approximately 4km before the tributary flows into the Loire.

History

The dam was constructed in 1907 to produce energy for a private organisation. Creating an impediment to the transportation of sediment and local fish migration, it had already ceased operation by 1957. By 1950 the backwater was already half filled with sediment. Within the scope of the major dam project “Serre de la Fare” (later annulled in 1991 due to huge resistance by the “SOS Loire Vivante” movement), the dam and its abutting land had been purchased by the public rights organisation EPL (Etablissement publique Loire, earlier EPALA).

Basic Data

Constructed in stone, the 6m high dam (700 m3) held back a water volume of approximately 10 000 m3. A high pressure pipe took the water to the turbine house which was also removed.