Eichel

The Eichel is a French Rivière which runs in the departments of the the Moselle and of the the Low-Rhine. It is a rather important affluent of the the Saar out of Right Bank, therefore a tributary of a tributary of the the Moselle then the Rhine.

Geography

Eichel takes its source on the western slope of the solid mass of the the Vosges of North, to the Small-Pierre (under the name of Donnenbach), and is thrown in the the Saar with Herbitzheim in extreme cases of the department of the the Moselle.

The catchment area lengthens south-east in the North-West on a few 25 km; the bas-rhinoise part is broad from 10 to 15 km, the total basin from 20 to 25 km. It covers a surface of approximately 180 km ² in the the Low-Rhine, 288,5 km ² on the whole.

Affluents

In the middle of its course, upstream and downstream from Diemeringen, it receives several large affluents: the Grentzbach, the Morstbach, the Petersbach and the Buttenbach.

Most important (Grentzbach and Petersbach) take their source in the Moselle, in the area of Saint-Louis-the-Bitche and Rohrbach-lès-Bitche. Thus for certain aspects, the field of investigations is extended to the native of the Moselle region part and covers the totality of hydrological area catchment.

Hydrology

Eichel is a rather abundant river of Western Vosgean Piedmont. Its flow was observed during one 40 years period (1968-2007), with Oermingen, locality of the department of the the Low-Rhine located little before its confluence with the the Saar. The catchment area of the river is there of 280 km ² (either its almost totality which makes 288,5 km ²).

The interannual medium flow or module of the river with Oermingen is of 2,92 m ³ a second.

Eichel presents seasonal fluctuations of flow little marked, at least compared to Lorraine average. The high waters are held in winter and are accompanied by average monthly flows from 4,41 to 5,37 m ³ a second, from December to March included (with an in February maximum). As of at the end of March, the flow drops gradually to the low waters of summer, which take place of at the beginning of June at the end of September, and involve a fall of the monthly medium flow going up to 1,28 m ³ in August, which remains very comfortable, it is true. But the fluctuations are much more marked over moreover short periods or according to the years.

Thus with the low water level, the VCN3 can fall until 0,170 m ³, in the event of dry period quinquennial, that is to say 170 liters a second, which is however not really severe. The VCN3 is the past minimal quantity or minimal flow over three days consecutive.

As for the risings, they can be very important taking into account the smallness of the river and the exiguity of its basin. The QIX 2 and QIX 5 or calculated flows of biennial and quinquennial rising are worth respectively 55 and 90 m ³. The QIX 10 or calculated flow of decennial rising is worth 110 m ³ a second, while the QIX 20 is assembled to 140 m ³. Finally the QIX 50 is of 160 m ³ a second. (see note).

The recorded maximum instantaneous flow with Oermingen was of 158 m ³ a second on February 25th, 1997, while the value maximum day laborer was of 135 m ³ a second on November 3rd, 2000. If one compares the first of these values to the various QIX exposed higher, one notes that it was about a rising of order cinquantennal, therefore rather exceptional.

Eichel is a rather abundant river, well supplied with sufficient precipitations on Vosgean Piedmont. The Lame of water past in its catchment area is of 331 millimetres annually, which is rather high, a little higher than the overall average of France. The specific Flow of the river (or Qsp) reached the figure of 10,4 liters a second and per square kilometer of basin.

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