History

1. being arrogant on the contrary
it's a way of submitting to it
completely
while coin became famous for arch faults
often built in steep areas
there are other types of dams built in
rivers such as the gravity dam
all share a common feature to build them
engineers must interrupt the natural
watercourse
to build such a structure it's first
necessary to drain the area chosen for
construction
the watercourse must thus be diverted
into the banks through a temporary
channel
or in more rugged regions through huge
diversion tunnels
the excavated rocks are then used to
build coffer dams dikes and temporary
barriers
that help drain the area
once the watercourse bed is dry
excavation can begin
the solidity of the support is insured
through intensive studies and high
strength concrete is used on any ground
deemed unfit for the foundations
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once the site is finished the cofferdams
are dismantled to put the dam in water
and create its vast reservoir
the quality of the rock is essential in
building a dam
the moment when a dam is first put in
water is one that no engineer not even
andre coin
experiences with serenity
of all the edifices built by man said
coin dams are potentially the deadliest
his words were prophetic
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in 1954 andre coyne completed the
malpasse archdam in the south of france
the reservoir allowed the farms around
frasiers to be irrigated
it was built in the reijan valley a
watercourse that runs dry in summer and
floods in winter
the weight went on for several years
until the water
filled it completely 1955 56 57
and there were no checks there was
nobody on the spot
since there is no electric plant the
construction was there purely to collect
water
there was no monitoring and warning
signs went unheeded
noises water dripping in some places
on the left bank the water had
infiltrated the rock which caused cracks