The balancing of incoming and outgoing water allows the

Canal du Midi The Canal du Midi (; ) is a long canal in Southern France (french: le Midi). Originally named the ''Canal royal en Languedoc'' (Royal Canal in Languedoc) and renamed by French revolutionaries to ''Canal du Midi'' in 1789, the canal is considere ...

to operate as it does. Each time a lock operates, large quantities of water are either required to fill it or dump from it into the lower level

pound Pound or Pounds may refer to: Units * Pound (currency), a unit of currency * Pound sterling, the official currency of the United Kingdom * Pound (mass), a unit of mass * Pound (force), a unit of force * Rail pound, in rail profile Symbols * Po ...

. There must be a constant source of water in order to fill and the excess water dumped must have a place to exit the canal without it overflowing. Being able to provide this water source was one of the most important problems to be solved by

Pierre Paul Riquet Stele in Toulouse Cathedral Pierre-Paul Riquet, Baron de Bonrepos (29 June 1609 (some sources say 1604) – 4 October 1680) was the engineer and canal-builder responsible for the construction of the Canal du Midi. Background Paul Riquet was bo ...

, its creator. In the canal's original configuration of 1687, water was provided by the

Rigole de la plaine The critical feature of the Canal du Midi was to provide sufficient water to ensure that the lock system continued to function, even through the summer months. The first part of this endeavor was the ''rigole de la plaine'' (french: trickle of th ...

from the

River Sor A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

and from the

Bassin de Saint-Ferréol The Bassin de Saint-Ferréol (Languedocien: ''Lac de Sant Ferriòl'') was created as the result of a large earth dam across the mouth of the valley of Laudot stream at St. Ferréol in the Montagne Noire. It was originally proposed by Chevalier de ...

. The

Bassin de Lampy The Bassin de Lampy was created during 1777 and 1781 when a dam was placed on the Lampy Valley in the Aude department in south-central France. The reservoir provides a source of water for the Canal du Midi. It was originally proposed in 1665 by ...

was added later. Since the drought of 1989-1990, water can also be made available from the Lac de Montbel. Water leaving the canal between locks, will exit through either a weir (french: déversoir) or a

siphon A siphon (from grc, σίφων, síphōn, "pipe, tube", also spelled nonetymologically syphon) is any of a wide variety of devices that involve the flow of liquids through tubes. In a narrower sense, the word refers particularly to a tube in a ...

(french: Épanchoir). Leaving through the weir, the water simply flows over the side of the canal via a stone or concrete ledge. If the water reaches a specific level, it may be siphoned off via a stone

. } and the ''canal vieux''. , - , S , , 119.0 , , Épanchoir de Ste-Julia , , , , , - , W , , 125.1 , , Déversoir de Marseillette , , , , , - , S , , 140.5 , , Épanchoir d'Argentdouble , , , , , - , S , , 167.7 , , Épanchoir des Patiasses , , , ,

Notes

: Distance in km from the beginning of the canal in Toulouse.

References

{{Reflist

External links

CanalMidi.com

The Canal du Midi - "Seuil de Naurouze"
Canal du Midi

See also

Notes

References

External links