| Lac de Pareloup | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Lac de Pareloup | |
| Location | Aveyron |
| Coordinates | 44°12′19″N2°45′26″E / 44.205408°N 2.757167°E /44.205408; 2.757167 |
| Type | reservoir |
| Primary inflows | Vioulou, pumping station at Bage- taking water from the Viaur and the Bage |
| Primary outflows | Vioulou, lac de Villefranche-de-Panat via the Alrance power station |
| Catchment area | 376 km2 (145 sq mi) |
| Basin countries | France |
| Surface area | 12.6 km2 (4.9 sq mi) |
| Water volume | 169 million cubic metres (137,000 acre⋅ft) |
| Surface elevation | 805 m (2,641 ft) |
Lac de Pareloup (French pronunciation:[lakdəpaʁəlu]; Occitan:Lac de Paralop; English:Pareloup Lake) is alake inAveyron,France. It lies on theLévézou plateau, 25 km south east of Rodez.
At an elevation of 805 m, its surface area is 12.6 km2.The impermeablegranite rocks are very suitable for water capture though the undulating landscape alone does not allow the vertical drops needed for power generation. However, in 1950 the barrage was built and agoit dug leading to theLac de Villefranche-de-Panat where the waters drop 461m vertically to the power station atLe Pouget on theTarn river.
This is the fifth largest hydroelectric reservoir by area in France having an area of 1260 hectares. It was formed by creating a dam across theVioulou, and pumping water 6.4 km, up 80 m from the 53-hectareBage reservoir on the Bage river and water from the 200 haPont-de-Salars reservoir on theViaur.
Waters from Pareloup can be directed either through the downstream Viaur to the power station atThuries or through a 10.9 km tunnel to the power station atAlrance at the head of the Lac de Villefranche-de-Panat. A small amount (3.5 hm3) is extracted for use as drinking water inRodez andSégala. Pareloup has a catchment area of 376 km2: 160 km2 from the Vioulou, Gourde andCéor, 216 km2 from the Viaur and Bage. The dam at Pareloup is 43.45 m high and 232 m long- it is 15.87 metres thick at its base, tapering to 2.77 m at the rim. It holds back 167 million m3 of usable water.[1]
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