500px, Map of the area following the construction of the canal During the first

Jura water correction The correction of the waters of the Swiss Jura consisted of a wide series of hydrological undertakings carried out in Switzerland in the region of the three lakes: Lake Murten connected to Lake Neuchatel by the Broye Canal, the latter connec ...

, a temporary dam had been built across the Nidau-Büren channel in order to maintain the water level in Lake Bienne. Of insufficient retaining capacity, another one in 1887 that also showed its limits, especially during a flood in 1910, quickly replaced it. Soon, the cantons of

Vaud Vaud ( ; , ), more formally Canton of Vaud, is one of the Cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of Subdivisions of the canton of Vaud, ten districts; its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat ...

Neuchâtel Neuchâtel (, ; ; ) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital (political), capital of the cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Neuchâtel (canton), Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel ...

and

Fribourg or is the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Canton of Fribourg, Fribourg and district of Sarine (district), La Sarine. Located on both sides of the river Saane/Sarine, on the Swiss Plateau, it is a major economic, adminis ...

required its replacement, but it was only modified in 1911 and 1915. Finally, the building of the new regulating dam was started in

Port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

in 1936, and completed and commissioned in 1939. This dam ensures the level control of the three lakes of

, Morat and Bienne, an area so called the " Seeland”, as well as the outflow of the

Aare The Aare () or Aar () is the main tributary of the High Rhine (its discharge even exceeds that of the latter at their confluence) and the longest river that both rises and ends entirely within Switzerland. Its total length from its source to i ...

river downstream toward Solothurn, Aargau and the junction with

Emme River The Emme () is a Rivers of Switzerland, river in Switzerland. It rises in the Alps between the peaks of Hohgant and Augstmatthorn in the canton of Bern. The Emme is long and flows through the Emmental and between Zuchwil and Luterbach into the Aar ...

down to the merging with the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

River. The three lakes act as a

buffer zone A buffer zone, also historically known as a march, is a neutral area that lies between two or more bodies of land; usually, between countries. Depending on the type of buffer zone, it may serve to separate regions or conjoin them. Common types o ...

, absorbing waters of the Aare in the event of any upstream flooding as far as the lakes

Thun Thun () is a List of towns in Switzerland, town and a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the administrative district of Thun (administrative district), Thun in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of Bern, Bern in Switzerland. ...

and

Brienz Brienz ( , , ) is a village and Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality on the northern shore of Lake Brienz, at the foot of the Brienzer Rothorn mountain, and in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland. Besides the village of Brienz, th ...

and of course “ Grand Marais”. Since the Second Jura water correction, the Murgenthal Status regulates the maximum and minimum levels of the three lakes, as well as the maximum outflow downstream. The system was completed with the Flumenthal dam regulating the flow further downstream of the merging of river Emme.

Sources

* par l'Office de l'économie hydraulique du canton de Berne * par l'Office de l'économie hydraulique du canton de Berne *

References

{{coord missing, Switzerland Canals in Switzerland Water transport in Switzerland