The Aar Dam and its reservoir, the Aartalsee, lie in the upper Aar valley in the German state of

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...

. Both are in the municipalities of

Bischoffen Bischoffen is a municipality in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Bischoffen lies in the Lahn-Dill Highland at the Aar Dam (''Aartalsperre''). This dam holds back the river Aar, a tributary to the Dill, forming a 57-ha la ...

and

Hohenahr Hohenahr () is a municipality in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Hohenahr lies in the Lahn-Dill Highland at a height of between 260 and 440 m above sea level. Its constituent communities of Ahrdt and Mudersbach are on th ...

in the county of

Lahn-Dill-Kreis Lahn-Dill is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the west of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Siegen-Wittgenstein, Marburg-Biedenkopf, Gießen, Wetteraukreis, Hochtaunuskreis, Limburg-Weilburg, Westerwaldkreis. History The southern district belo ...

and about 15 km northwest of the town of

Gießen Giessen, spelled Gießen in German (), is a town in the German state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of both the district of Giessen and the administrative region of Giessen. The population is approximately 90,000, with roughly 37,000 univers ...

. On the lakeshores lie the villages of Ahrdt and Mudersbach, both part of the parish of

. Since 1991 the dam has impounded the River Aar, a left-hand tributary of the

Dill Dill (''Anethum graveolens'') is an annual herb in the celery family Apiaceae. It is the only species in the genus ''Anethum''. Dill is grown widely in Eurasia, where its leaves and seeds are used as a herb or spice for flavouring food. Growth ...

in the

Gladenbach Uplands The Gladenbach Uplands (german: Gladenbacher Bergland), named after their central town of Gladenbach, is a range of hills up to 609 m high in the Rhine Massif in Germany, on the junction of the Rothaar Mountains (north and northwest), Wester ...

. The reservoir is also fed by the Stadterbach, Wilsbach (into the forebay), Weidbach and Meerbach (into the main reservoir).

Use

The

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

is primarily used for

flood protection Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...

for the Aar and Dill. In Winter the reservoir is filled to a capacity of 1.33 million m³; in summer this rises to 1.84 million m³. Other uses are: raising low water levels, electricity generation, fishing and recreation. As a result, the dam and reservoir also contribute economically to the region. The reservoir was opened in 1992 as a

bathing lake A bathing lake is a natural or artificial lake that is used for public bathing and swimming. In the water, bathers mostly remain close to the shore and use the area for recreational purposes, such as sport, games and sunbathing. In Europe, because ...

. Its operator is the county council of Lahn-Dill-Kreis and the Dillgebeit Water Association.

External links

{{Commons category * Hessisches Landesamt für Umwelt und Geologie:
Der Aartalsee
' In: Badeseen in Hessen, retrieved 13 May 2009

''Warum der Aartalsee entstand''

Photographs of the Aartalsee
Dams in Hesse Lahn-Dill-Kreis SAar Reservoir Rock-filled dams 1991 establishments in Germany Hydroelectric power stations in Germany

Use

See also

External links