A special Montpezat rivernews has just been published!

Our latest Rivernews december / january 2024  is devoted entirely to the Montpezat hydroelectric complex and provides an update on the volumes stored and transferred in 2023. Allg figures are to be confirmed during January 2024 and will be updated if necessary on our dedicated webpages.

In 2023, 108.4 million m3 were transferred to the Ardèche (compared with 220 million m3 in the “best” years). Most of this, 100 Mio m3, was taken from the Loire in autumn and transferred in winter for peak electricity production. The significant drop in rainfall in autumn/winter resulted in a 50% reduction in winter turbines compared with the past. In spring, 9.4 Moi m3 were stored in the reservoirs on the Loire side and used to support the low-water levels of the Ardèche (8.4 Moi m3) and the Loire (1 Moi m3), in line with the low-water support objectives. The year 2023 had got off to a bad start, however, and it seemed impossible to fill the reservoirs at the La Palisse, Gage and Issarlès dams, but the weather came to the complex’s rescue in the last few weeks, just before the summer period, which means that the Issarlès lake must remain open to tourists.

See also our other articles:

• Raising the La Palisse dam: good idea or bad idea?
• Immersion at the Citizens’ March for equitable water sharing between the Loire and Ardèche rivers
• Children send us a message: Some of the winners of the 2022-2023 edition of Rivière d’Images et Fleuves de Mots, environmental education project

Read our newsletter (in french only)

Figures for 2023
Volumes stored and transferred to the Ardèche or returned to the Loire