Discover the lake

From the 1960s, the water resources of the city of Metz began to be insufficient during low-water periods. The risks of pollution of the Moselle River, as well as growing demographic and industrial development, prompted the city of Metz to acquire a new water resource.

After numerous geological and financial studies, the Lac de Madine site was chosen for its clayey, impermeable soil. The impoundment of the artificial lake began in 1976.The first leisure facilities were developed there between 1977 and 1979.

The lake was created on the Madine stream. This flows into the Rupt-de-Mad before joining the Moselle. It is the largest lake in Lorraine in terms of its surface area of almost 10 km2, its two islands (Île Verte and Île du Bois Gérard), its 250 hectares of forest and its 42 km of shoreline, but it is also the second largest lake behind Lac de Pierre-Percée in terms of its water volume of 35 million m3.

In 1998, the national hunting and wildlife reserve of lac de Madine and the Pannesponds was created.

Located at the heart of the Parc naturel régional de Lorraine, Lac de Madine is also an integral part of the Natura 2000 network highlighting an exceptional heritage of European importance.

Today it is used to support the low-water level of the Rupt-de-Mad, representing 60% of the resources needed to supply drinking water to the Syndicat des Eaux de la Région Messine (SERM).