Sivens Dam

Sivens Dam
Location of Sivens Dam in France
Official name	Barrage de Sivens
Country	France
Location	Lisle-sur-Tarn
Coordinates	43°55′0″N 1°46′10″E / 43.91667°N 1.76944°E / 43.91667; 1.76944Coordinates: 43°55′0″N 1°46′10″E / 43.91667°N 1.76944°E / 43.91667; 1.76944
Status	Under construction
Construction began	2014
Dam and spillways
Height	12 m (39 ft)
Length	304 m (997 ft)
Reservoir
Total capacity	1,500,000 m3 (1,200 acre·ft)
Surface area	42 ha (100 acres)
Max. length	2 km (1.2 mi)

Sivens Dam, (Barrage de Sivens), is a dam which, as of 2014, is under construction across the River Tescou, a tributary of the River Tarn in the basin of the Garonne in Southern France. The construction site is 10 km north of Lisle-sur-Tarn, in the Department of Tarn (Midi-Pyrénées). The dam is named after the nearby Forest of Sivens. Construction work began in 2014.

On 26 October 2014, Rémi Fraisse, a 21-year-old student protesting against the construction project, was killed after being hit in the back by a stun grenade, sparking further protests, some of which were violent.^[1]

Description

Sivens, is in the Tescou river, a tributary of the Tarn in the basin of the Garonne. A barrage project was initiated for the formation of a water reservoir with a volume of 1.5 million m3 used especially for irrigation of agricultural land and the control of the low water Tescou. The impact of the project lies in retaining the flooding of 12 hectares of wetland. Countervailing Measures are planning to restore a total area of 19.5 hectares. This project benefits from 30% of European founds (Fedear). The main actors of the project are the general council of Tarn region, Water Agency Adour Garonne and the development company slopes of Gascony. In 2011, a collective has been created against this project : "Tant qu’il y aura des bouilles". Hundreds of people came to the zone planned for flooding to live there and to prevent the construction of the dam. .^[2][3][4] Declared illegal, the Project is now closed.^[5]

References