The Olef Dam (german: Oleftalsperre) is located in the vicinity of the
Eifel National Park near
Hellenthal within the
High Fens-Eifel Nature Park
High may refer to:
Science and technology
* Height
* High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area
* High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory
* High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift to ...
in the county of
Euskirchen
Euskirchen (; Ripuarian: ''Öskerche'') is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the district Euskirchen. While Euskirchen resembles a modern shopping town, it also has a history dating back over 700 years, having been granted to ...
in the German state of
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...
. Its reservoir stores around 20 million cubic metres and is fed by the
River Olef.
Description
The Olef Dam was built between 1954 and 1959 for two purposes: to protect the surrounding municipalities from floods; and to supply drinking water. In 1965 the valley was completely filled with water for the first time and the dam officially opened. There were two subsequent construction phases to reinforce it: 1962–1965 and 1982–1986. 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, a ...
is made of concrete and is of the
buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (s ...
type and is unique in Germany.
[There is only one other buttress dam in Germany, the Linach Dam, but it is a subgroup of the ''Gewölbereihenstaumauer'' type.]
Other uses of the dam are to raise low water levels, industrial water processing and hydropower generation. The power station capacity is 3 MW, its annual energy production is 2.6 GWh. The storage power station is operated by
RWE Innogy.
The dam belongs to the
Wasserverband Eifel-Rur. Because of its proximity to the Belgian border, its western half is within the safety template of the
Elsenborn Training Area in the Belgian municipality of
Bütgenbach
Bütgenbach (; french: Butgenbach, ) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège. On January 1, 2006, Bütgenbach had a total population of 5,574. The total area is 97.31 km² which gives a population density of 57 inhabitants ...
.
The dam had to be reinforced twice because large variations in temperature and shrinkage of the concrete produced greater internal stresses than were foreseen, leading to cracks. The initially open downstream side was sealed in order to limit the temperature variations.
The shortest circular route around the reservoir is 13 km long. It runs along the lakeshore and is open to cyclists. Its northern side is largely tarmacked.
In early April 2007 the downstream face of the dam was decorated by artist, Klaus Dauven, with high pressure cleaners as part of Project ''Wildwechsel''. It portrays forest and river animals from the area.
Gallery
Oleftal sperre.JPG, Long shot of the dam with Klaus Dauvens ''Wildwechsel''
KontrgangOleftsp.JPG, Controlled entranceway inside the dam
Truppenübungsplatz Elsenborn.jpg, Training area safety templates by the Olef Reservoir
See also
*
List of dams in Germany
These are dams and reservoirs in Germany.
The German word ''Talsperre'' (literally: valley barrier) may mean dam, but it is often used to include the associated reservoir as well. The reservoirs are often separately given names ending in ''-see' ...
References
Literature
* Felix Gerhardus: ''Der Bau der Oleftalsperre.'' In: ''Heimatkalender des Landkreises Schleiden.'' 9, 1959, , pp. 56–68.
External links
Photographs and many technical detailsOlef Dam GaugeDams in North Rhine-Westphalia; Landesumweltamt NRW
(pdf; 124 kB)
Photographs of the Open Day on 26 September 2009
{{Authority control
Buttress dams
Hydroelectric power stations in Germany
Economy of North Rhine-Westphalia
Dams in North Rhine-Westphalia
Buildings and structures in Euskirchen (district)
1950s architecture
RWE