Écluse 4 Villenoy - Canal de l'Ourcq - Villenoy, near Meaux, France, UK - Waterway Locks, Planes and Lifts on Waymarking.com

This is lock number 4, known as Villenoy, on the Canal de l'Ourcq.

The lock is situated in the village of Villenoy which is two kilometres downstream of the large town of Meaux.

The canal is 108 kilometres long and runs from La Villette basin in Paris to the start at Pont-aux-Perches.

It was built to take waters from the River Ourcq into Paris for drinking water. Nowadays it is used to supply half of Parisian's non drinking water needs such as street and sewer cleaning.

It was opened in 1822 and its locks are a lot narrower, down to 3.1 metres wide, than other French canals. For this reason not many pleasure boats are seen on the canal.

The first 11 kilometres out of Paris is broad gauge and used by commercial boats.

The locks are operated by the boater and a key for this purpose is available at locks 7/8 on the Canal St Martin and a couple of other sites on the Parisian canal network.

This link provides more useful history about the canal:
(visit link)

Waterway Name: Canal de l'Ourcq Connected Points: The canal links the River Ourcq at Pont-aux-Perches to the Canal St Martin at Pont de la Crimée. It has several small rivers and streams that feed it as well as the Ourcq itself. It has a link to the Canal St Denis about 200 metres before its southern end in Paris. Type: Lock Date Opened: 01/01/1822 Elevation Difference (meters): 1.00 Site Status: Operational Web Site: [Web Link] Date Closed (if applicable): Not listed

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