# Ecker Dam > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ecker_Dam > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ecker_Dam.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecker_Dam > Source revision: 1254407936 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{no footnotes|date=June 2019}} {{Infobox dam | name = Ecker Dam | name_official = | image = EckertalsperreStaumauer.jpg | image_size = 270px | image_caption = Dam wall | location_map = Germany | location_map_size = 200 | location_map_caption = | coordinates = {{coord|51|50|08|N|10|35|15|E|type:landmark_region:DE|display=inline,title}} | country = [Germany](/source/Germany) | location = [Lower Saxony](/source/Lower_Saxony)/[Saxony-Anhalt](/source/Saxony-Anhalt) | construction_began = 1939 | opening = 1942 | cost = | owner = | operator = | dam_type = [Gravity dam](/source/Gravity_dam) | dam_length = {{Convert|235|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} | dam_height = {{Convert|65|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} | dam_width_crest = {{Convert|2.2|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} | dam_width_base = | dam_volume = {{Convert|168000|m3|ft3|abbr=on}} | dam_crosses = [Ecker](/source/Ecker) | spillway_type = | spillway_capacity = | res_name = | res_capacity_total = {{Convert|13270000|m3|ft3|abbr=on}} | res_catchment = {{Convert|19|km2|mi2|0|abbr=on}} | res_surface = {{Convert|68|ha|km2|0|abbr=on}} | res_max_depth = | plant_type = C | plant_operator = [Harzwasserwerke](/source/Harzwasserwerke) | plant_commission = | plant_decommission = | plant_turbines = | plant_capacity = 2 x {{convert|300000|W|abbr=on}} | plant_annual_gen = {{convert|1400000|kWh|abbr=on}} | website = | extra = }} The '''Ecker Dam''' ({{langx|de|Eckertalsperre}}) is a [gravity dam](/source/gravity_dam) in the [Harz](/source/Harz) mountain range near [Bad Harzburg](/source/Bad_Harzburg), [Germany](/source/Germany). Constructed between 1939 and 1943, it is today operated by the [Harzwasserwerke](/source/Harzwasserwerke) company. The dam's [reservoir](/source/reservoir) impounds the waters of the [Ecker](/source/Ecker) river and mainly serves for drinking [water supply](/source/water_supply). == Operation == thumb|left|Ecker Reservoir The dam is used for the supply of [drinking water](/source/drinking_water), [flood protection](/source/flood_protection), and raising water levels during times of low rainfall. With an average discharge of 16 million m³ per year, it provides drinking water to the cities of [Brunswick](/source/Braunschweig), [Wolfenbüttel](/source/Wolfenb%C3%BCttel), and [Wolfsburg](/source/Wolfsburg). A pipe system leads to a central [water tower](/source/water_tower) near [Liebenburg](/source/Liebenburg), where the waters of the nearby [Grane Dam](/source/Grane_Dam) are also collected. [Electricity generation](/source/Electricity_generation) is also provided through a small [hydropower](/source/hydropower) plant, operated by two turbines with an installed capacity of 2 x 300 kW and an annual generation of 1,400,000 kWh. == Construction == The Ecker Dam was the third modern reservoir built in the Harz mountains, after the construction of the [Söse Dam](/source/S%C3%B6se_Dam) in 1928–1931 and the [Oder Dam](/source/Oder_Dam) in 1930–1933. It was laid out in the Ecker catchment area at the foot of the [Brocken](/source/Brocken) massif, characterised by extended [upland bogs](/source/raised_bog) and heavy [precipitation](/source/precipitation) of up to {{convert|1700|mm|in|abbr=on}} a year. The reservoir uses a section of the river valley which, below a prominent [trough end](/source/trough_end), was dug out in the shape of a basin by an [ice age](/source/ice_age) glacier. Construction started in 1939, mainly to meet the increasing demand for drinking water in the Brunswick greater area and around the recently opened [Wolfsburg Volkswagen Plant](/source/Wolfsburg_Volkswagen_Plant). For the first time in Germany, coarse-grained [concrete](/source/concrete) (''Rüttelgrobbeton'') with an aggregate of up to 300 mm grain size was used to build the gravity structure. Works continued throughout [World War II](/source/World_War_II), when the [Nazi](/source/Nazi_Germany) authorities also deployed [foreign workers](/source/Forced_labour_under_German_rule_during_World_War_II) (''Fremdarbeiter'') and [POWs](/source/Prisoner-of-war) to complete the facilities. thumb|left|Preserved East German border post on the dam crest After the war and the division into [East](/source/East_Germany) and [West Germany](/source/West_Germany) from 1949, the [inner German Border](/source/inner_German_Border) ran straight through the site. The [Border Troops of the German Democratic Republic](/source/Border_Troops_of_the_German_Democratic_Republic) had walls and barbed wire mounted on the dam crest and only about two-thirds of the facilities were accessible from the west. Access rights to operate the facilities were settled by bilateral agreements in the late 1970s. == Tourism == Though not accessible by car, the Ecker Dam and the circular trail around its reservoir are popular destinations for daytrippers. The dam wall is checkpoint no. 1 in the [Harzer Wandernadel](/source/Harzer_Wandernadel) hiking trail network. == See also == * [List of dams in the Harz](/source/List_of_dams_in_the_Harz) * [List of reservoirs and dams in Germany](/source/List_of_reservoirs_and_dams_in_Germany) * [Hiking trails in Germany](/source/%3ACategory%3AHiking_trails_in_Germany) == Notes == * {{citation|surname1=Peter Franke|surname2= Wolfgang Frey|title=Talsperren in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland |publisher=Systemdruck|publication-place=Berlin|isbn=3-926520-00-0|date= 1987|language=German}} ==References== {{Reflist|30em}} == External links == {{Commons category|Eckertalsperre}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20110719035027/http://www.harzwasserwerke.de/index2.html?eckertsp.html~haupt Harzwasserwerke.de] with a link to current dam data * [http://www.harzlife.de/tip/eckertalsperre.html Tourist information on the Ecker Dam] * [https://www.flickr.com/photos/71144572@N00/443909885/ Historic photograph of the Ecker Dam in 1978] Category:Dams in Lower Saxony Category:Dams in Saxony-Anhalt Category:Dams in the Harz Category:Dams completed in 1942 Category:1942 establishments in Germany --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ecker Dam](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecker_Dam) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecker_Dam?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.