L'écluse de Fresnes - Canal de l'Ourcq, France - Waterway Locks, Planes and Lifts on Waymarking.com

[FR] En 1991, des travaux rendent son fonctionnement automatique.

Le canal de l’Ourcq a été construit à partir de Paris, de l’aval vers l’amont. Il assure une alimentation de Paris en eau, tout en permettant une navigation de fret. Celle-ci s’est établie à partir de 1813 entre Claye-Souilly et Paris grâce aux eaux de la Beuvronne.

Réalisé aux deux tiers lors de la chute définitive du Premier Empire, ce canal n’a été achevé qu’en 1821.

Pour améliorer l’alimentation en eau du canal qui était insuffisante, on décida de capter les eaux d’un affluent de la rive gauche de l’Ourcq, ce qui supposait le franchissement du cours aval de l’Ourcq avant de rejoindre le canal. Après avoir hésité entre une rigole d’alimentation et une voie navigable, le choix se porta sur cette dernière solution.

[EN] The Canal de l'Ourcq is a 108.1 km (67.2 mi) long canal of the Paris Basin with 10 locks. It was built at a width of 3.2 m (10 ft) but was enlarged to 3.7 m (12 ft), which permitted use by more pleasure boats. The canal begins at Port-aux-Perches near the village of Troesnes, where it splits from the channeled River Ourcq, and flows to the Bassin de la Villette, where it joins the Canal Saint-Martin. Paris requires 380 000 m3 (497,000 yd3) of water daily for cleaning the sewer system, gutters, and parks. The Canal de l'Ourcq provides about half of the requirement. Since 1983, the waterway has been designated for use by pleasure craft, and its water is designated for non-drinking uses.

The canal is considered part of the 130 km (80.7 mi) Parisian canal network, along with the Canal Saint-Denis, the bassin de la Villette, and the Canal Saint-Martin. The canals were created as part of the administrative management of water in Paris during the nineteenth century.

On 19 May 1802, Napoleon Bonaparte ordered the creation of the canal. Specifically, he decreed that the Seine be diverted from below the Bassin de l'Arsenal to the Bassin de la Villette. The canals would have the dual purposes of providing shipping channels which avoided the Seine and bringing water to Paris. Funding was secured via a grant and supplemental wine taxes, and the first stone was laid on 23 September. Napoleon appointed Pierre-Simon Girard to direct the project and work was undertaken in January 1804. The design of the canal called for a structure in which the water was both slowmoving, to aid navigation, and non-stagnant, in order to provide healthy drinking water. The canal was also intended to feed the Canal Saint-Martin and Canal Saint-Denis.

After the fall of the French Empire, work stopped until the Bourbon Restoration in 1814. The monarchy contracted with the Compagnie Vassel et Saint-Didier for 99 years, which allowed the company to collect tolls along the property, but required that the canal be completed and maintained. It was then realized that the slope was steep, causing too strong a current. Engineer Marie-Émile Vuigner added five locks to make navigation possible. The canal was opened to navigation in 1822.

Waterway Name: Le Canal de l'Ourcq Connected Points: The Ourcq canal channels the water of the Ourcq river connecting them to the Saint Martin and Saint Denis canals in Paris. Type: Lock Date Opened: 01/01/1841 Elevation Difference (meters): .00 Site Status: Operational Web Site: [Web Link] Date Closed (if applicable): Not listed

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