Gileppe Dam
The Gileppe Dam (French Barrage de la Gileppe) is an arch-gravity dam on the Gileppe river in Jalhay, Liège province, Wallonia, Belgium. It was built in the 1870s to supply water for the wool industry in nearby Verviers. The monumental structure with its unusually thick profile played an important role in establishing an international standard for masonry gravity dams as a technology for major water supply systems. It was considered one of the strongest dams in Europe at the time, and it was the first dam built in modern Belgium. In the first decade of the 21st century, it was noted as supplying most of the drinking water for Verviers, as well as industrial water, and as producing hydroelectricity.
| Gileppe Dam | |
|---|---|
View from above in April 2007 | |
Location of Gileppe Dam in Belgium | |
| Official name | Barrage de la Gileppe (French) |
| Location | Jalhay, Liège province, Wallonia, Belgium |
| Coordinates | 50°35′21″N 5°58′28″E |
| Construction began | 1868 (heightened 1967–71) |
| Opening date | 28 July 1878 |
| Construction cost | 4,549,000 Belgian fr. ($874,000, £182,000) |
| Owner(s) | Wallonia |
| Operator(s) | Service public de Wallonie (SPW) |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Gravity dam (masonry earth- and rockfill) |
| Impounds | Gileppe river |
| Height | 1878: 51.76 metres Present: 68 metres |
| Length | 365 meters |
| Width (base) | 66 metres |
| Dam volume | 248480.3 m3 |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Lake Gileppe |
| Total capacity | 26,400,000 m3 |
| Surface area | 130 hectares |
| Power Station | |
| Turbines | two horizontal Francis-type |
| Installed capacity | 0.633 MW |
| Annual generation | 3.3 million kWh |
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