Couzon (Gier)
{{Infobox river
| name = Couzon
| image = Couz val 2.JPG
| image_size = 220px
| image_alt =
| image_caption = Couzon valley from the D30 between Rive-de-Gier and Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez, above the dam (November 2008)
| pushpin_map = France#France Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
| map_size =
| map_alt =
| map_caption =
| source1_location = Mont Pilat
| mouth_location = Rive-de-Gier
| mouth_coordinates = {{coord|45.5309|4.6259|display=it}}
| progression = {{RGier}}
| subdivision_type1 = Country
| subdivision_name1 = France
| subdivision_type2 = Location
| subdivision_name2 = Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
| etymology =
| length = {{convert|12.7|km|mi|abbr=on}}
| source1_elevation =
| mouth_elevation =
| discharge1_avg =
| basin_size = {{convert|34|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}
| river_system =
| tributaries_left =
| tributaries_right =
| custom_label =
| custom_data =
}}
The Couzon is a river in the Loire department of France, a tributary of the Gier, which in turn is a tributary of the Rhône. A dam on the river, built to serve as a reservoir for the Givors canal, now provides drinking water to the town of Rive-de-Gier.
Geography
The Couzon drains a basin of {{convert|34|km2}} at a mean altitude of {{convert|550|m}}.
It rises in the Pilat massif at an altitude of about {{convert|900|m}}.{{sfn|CESAME|2010|p=8}}
The river is {{convert|12.5|km}} long.
It runs through the communes of Pavezin, Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez, Châteauneuf and Rive-de-Gier.
Tributaries are the Ruisseau Boissieux, Grand Valluy and Ruisseau de Chamerle.{{Sandre|V3110700|Le Couzon}}
Dam
In December 1788 King Louis XVI of France approved construction of a reservoir to supply water to the Givors canal in dry periods.
François Zacharie, the canal's builder, had proposed a site for the reservoir high up near Saint-Étienne, but the chosen site was low down on the Couzon near Rive-de-Gier.
This short-sighted decision ruled out the plan to continue the canal up to Saint-Etienne via the Janon and then down to the Loire.{{sfn|Un canal oublié: La Tribune de Romain|p=9}}
The French Revolution (1789–1799) delayed the work, but construction of the Barrage de Couzon (Couzon Dam) was completed in 1811.{{sfn|Smith|1972|p=174}}
The dam was operational by 1812.{{sfn|CESAME|2010|p=49}}
It was formally inaugurated on 23 September 1814 by the Comte d'Artois.{{sfn|Balades: Mairie de Chateauneuf}}
The dam was modeled on the dam built at Saint-Ferriol for the Midi canal.{{sfn|Ravinet|1824|p=116-116}}
It has an unusual structure. Three parallel walls are interconnected by buttresses and form the central core.{{sfn|Balades: Mairie de Chateauneuf}}
This is {{convert|6.8|m}} thick and {{convert|50|m}} long. Earth banks on each side of the wall provide strength. On the upstream (reservoir) side the earth bank is {{convert|10|m}} high, and on the downstream side the bank is {{convert|33|m}} high.{{sfn|Balade en Pilat...}}
Two tunnels run through the embankment at the deepest points. The lower one follows the original course of the river, and is used to remove silt from the reservoir.
The upper one has valves where it exits the reservoir. There are two spillways with a combined length of {{convert|40|m}}.{{sfn|Berlow|1998|p=41}}
The dam intercepts water from a basin of {{convert|27.4|km2}} with an average elevation of {{convert|588|m}}.{{sfn|CESAME|2010|p=49}}
Initially the dam was capable of containing {{convert|1000000|m3}} of water.{{sfn|Ravinet|1824|p=116-116}}
Today the dam has a capacity of {{convert|1450000|m3}}.{{sfn|Balade en Pilat...}}
In 1880, when the canal company went bankrupt, the dam was converted into a source of drinking water for the inhabitants of Rive-de-Gier.{{sfn|Balades: Mairie de Chateauneuf}}
It delivers {{convert|245|L}} per second of water.{{sfn|CESAME|2010|p=49}}
The water serves 95% of the municipality of Rive-de-Gier, part of Châteauneuf, and since 2005 St-Martin-le-Plain and St. Joseph.
As of 2010 19,678 people relied on the dam for water, as well as various industrial users such as Industeel.{{sfn|CESAME|2010|p=50}}
Other uses
A stretch of {{convert|3|km}} below the dam is used for kayaking.{{sfn|Le Couzon: eauxvives}}
Gallery
File:Quartier Couzon RDG.jpg|Route de Couzon in Rive-de-Gier start of the 20th century
File:Couz val 1.JPG|Reservoir of the Couzon dam in November 2008
File:Paysage Barrage Couzon.jpg|Country around the Couzon dam in August 2008
References
Citations
{{reflist |colwidth=30em}}
Sources
{{refbegin}}
- {{cite web|ref={{harvid|Balade en Pilat...}}|url=http://www.forez-info.com/encyclopedie/balade/137-balade-en-pilat-dans-la-vallee-du-couzon.html|title=Balade en Pilat, dans la vallée du Couzon|work=Forez Info|access-date=2013-08-30|archive-date=2013-06-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602141827/http://www.forez-info.com/encyclopedie/balade/137-balade-en-pilat-dans-la-vallee-du-couzon.html|url-status=live}}
- {{cite web|ref={{harvid|Balades: Mairie de Chateauneuf}}|url=http://www.mairiedechateauneuf.fr/page.php?idchap=41&idpage=275&PHPSESSID=|title=Balades|publisher=Mairie de Chateauneuf|access-date=2013-08-30|archive-date=2012-03-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306053012/http://www.mairiedechateauneuf.fr/page.php?idchap=41&idpage=275&PHPSESSID=|url-status=live}}
- {{cite book|last=Berlow|first=Lawrence H.|title=The Reference Guide to Famous Engineering Landmarks of the World: Bridges, Tunnels, Dams, Roads, and Other Structures|url=https://archive.org/details/referenceguideto0000berl|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/referenceguideto0000berl/page/41 41]|access-date=2013-08-30|year=1998|publisher=Oryx|isbn=978-0-89774-966-4}}
- {{cite web|url=http://www.rhone-mediterranee.eaufrance.fr/docs/gestion-quantitative/EEVPG/Gier/EVP_Gier_rapport_phase1_mars2010.pdf|author=CESAME|date=March 2010|title=Prélèvements et gestion quantitative de la ressource sur le bassin versant du Gier Phase 1|publisher=Saint-Etienne Metropole|access-date=2012-08-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304073258/http://www.rhone-mediterranee.eaufrance.fr/docs/gestion-quantitative/EEVPG/Gier/EVP_Gier_rapport_phase1_mars2010.pdf|archive-date=2016-03-04|url-status=dead}}
- {{cite web|ref={{harvid|Le Couzon: eauxvives}}|url=http://www.eauxvives.org/fr/rivieres/voir/couzon|title=Le Couzon|work=eauxvives|access-date=2013-08-30|archive-date=2012-04-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426084249/http://www.eauxvives.org/fr/rivieres/voir/couzon|url-status=live}}
- {{cite book|language=French|last=Ravinet|first=Théodore|title=Dictionnaire hydrographique de la France, contenant la description des rivières et canaux flottables et navigables dépendans du domaine public...: suivi de la collection complète des tarifs des droits de navigation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SsRoMZEJkdUC&pg=PA115|access-date=2013-08-25|year=1824|publisher=Bachelier}}
- {{cite book|last=Smith|first=Norman Alfred Fisher|title=A History of Dams|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IlJGAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA174|access-date=2013-08-30|year=1972|publisher=Citadel Press|isbn=978-0-8065-0291-5}}
- {{cite journal|ref={{harvid|Un canal oublié: La Tribune de Romain}}|url=http://www.ville-dangesaintromain.fr/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/journal19.pdf|title=Un canal oublié|journal=La Tribune de Romain|date=October 2012|access-date=2013-08-26|language=French}}{{dead link|date=August 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
{{refend}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Couzon}}