Figari Reservoir Explained

Figari Reservoir
Location:Corse-du-Sud, Corsica
Coords:41.4658°N 9.1479°W
Type:Lake
Basin Countries:France
Pushpin Map:Corsica#France
Pushpin Label Position:left

The Figari Reservoir (French: '''Réservoir de Figari''', '''Rétenue de Figari''', '''Lac de Talza''', '''Lac de Ventilegne''') is a reservoir in the Corse-du-Sud department of France on the island of Corsica.It provides water for irrigation and human consumption.

Location

The Figari Reservoir is in the commune of Figari near the south coast of Corsica.It is southeast of the village of Figari.It is formed by a dam, the Barrage de Figari, that impounds the Ruisseau de Ventilegne.The reservoir supplies water for human consumption and for irrigation to the communes of Bonifacio, Figari, Pianottoli-Caldarello and Monacia-d'Aullène.

Dam

The dam came into service in 1993 and is operated by the Office d’Equipement Hydraulique de Corse (OEHC).It is a riprap structure high and long with a crest elevation of .It holds of water.The reservoir has a surface area of and is fed by a drainage basin of .The waterbody, dam and facilities occupy about in the commune of Figari, but include in the municipality of Bunifaziu, which holds the pumping station.

Developments

In December 2002 it was reported that the Agence de l'eau Rhône-Méditerranée-Corse had provided up to 600,000 euros to the OEHC so it could install a water intake on the Orgone river from which it could supply additional water to the Figari reservoir.Implementation was planned for the fall of 2003.

In 2018 the OEHC scheduled work to renew the steel pipeline downstream from the Figari dam and to replace a defective valve in the pumping station.As of 2019 the OEHC was planning substantial upgrades to the spillway so it could handle a 10,000 year flood.There were also considering a hydroelectric power plant on the filling pipe of the reservoir, and considering floating solar panels.

The Extrême-Sud region consumed over of water per week in August 2020, considerably higher than the ten-year average and caused more by high heat than by tourism, which was down that year.The Figari and Ospedale reservoirs are the only two storage structures for the region, with a combined capacity of, not enough to meet future needs.There were plans to expand the pipeline from the Figari dam north to the Nota water treatment station and to increase the capacity of the Figari reservoir by .Plans also included building a dam on the Cavu to store of water.