Side weir

The side weir, which was extended to a length of 200 m around 1900 - the longest historical side weir in the canton of Zurich - is located slightly to the right of the river centre in a slight outer curve. Its task is to channel part of the Reuss water into the headrace channel at low or high water levels. However, since it does not extend across the entire width of the river, the main part of the outflow remains in the Reuss.

At the end of the side weir there is the normally closed sediment flushing sluice and the 4 headrace inlet sluices which control the water inflow to the headrace channel.

The side weir was severely damaged during the storms of 2005 and 2007 and was comprehensively renovated between 2011 and 2012 together with the headrace channel for 1.3 million Swiss francs. The historical building structure was chosen as a model for this. The walls of the side weir consist of rows of piles driven into the river bed. As longitudinal shoring, round timbers were used and the space in between was filled with stones. To prevent erosion damage, a sheet pile wall was driven - quasi as a modern solution. During the restoration work, care was taken to reuse as much old material as possible.