Pollution
Humain
Environnement
Economique

A leak estimated at 200 litres/min was detected on a 5-m high dyke surrounding a 130,000-m artificial reservoir of water 11 m deep and extending over 1.2 ha. The intervention by professional divers to plug the leak proved impossible due the high inflow rate. Fire-fighters set up two 120-m³/h pumps and seven 60-m³/h pumps in order to lower the water level and drop the pressure; the operation lasted 1 week. The agency responsible for electricity, agriculture and public works, as well as local authorities and the police, visited the scene. Three water mills and several houses were identified within a 2-km radius of the area to be threatened by a flood resulting from a worsening leak. No main road was involved, and only towpaths were potentially exposed.

After 60 hours of pumping, the water level had dropped 2.8 m, for a removal of 40,000 m³. The emergency services carried out a new risk assessment that did not reveal any deterioration of the dyke from soil washed away, i.e. a significant decrease in soil water level (1 m) at the foot of the dam was observed. The response crew concluded the non-necessity of retaining pumping equipment. However, emptying by gravity continued using the fixed installations until it was possible to send in the divers to precisely identify the location and nature of the leak. Meanwhile, the operator set up regular site monitoring measures, with daily information updates provided to local officials. Six families were taken to a shelter for the weekend and returned to their homes the following Monday.