Val de la Mare

From Jerripedia

Val de La Mare

The dam nears completion in 1961

Val de La Mare is a loosely defined area in the west of the island, stretching from inland St Peter to the coast in St Ouen's Bay. Much of it has been under water since 1961 when a reservoir, the second largest in Jersey, was constructed

On 9 June 1961, the Evening Post reported the first test pumping of water from the new Val de la Mare reservoir to the reservoir at Handois. Mr Bob Burrows, the engineer and manager of the Jersey New Waterworks Company, said that all went to plan.

He was quoted as saying that consumption figures of water were on the rise, with up to 600,000 gallons of water being used on gardens alone on peak days. The newspaper concluded that despite low rainfall figures for the year, the reservoir at Val de la Mare meant that there was no concern about a water shortage.

Before the reservoir, the watermill Moulin de la Mare was served by the stream coming down through the valleys at Val de la Mare. Land around the mill and the mill house building itself were requisitioned during the Occupation and a bunker was constructed on the site of the mill house.

While many watermills were located on royal fiefs, Val de la Mare mill was located on the Fief des Vingt Livres and upkeep would have been owed to the local Seigneur.