About Verse Dam

The Versetalsperre in the Märkisches Sauerland of North Rhine-Westphalia holds 32.8 million cubic metres of water within the Ruhrverband's integrated reservoir network. Completed in 1952, the 52-metre rockfill dam impounds the Verse river near Lüdenscheid. The reservoir was built primarily to augment the water supply of the rapidly expanding metalworking industries in the Lüdenscheid and Iserlohn area, which required large volumes of process cooling water in addition to drinking water. Today the Versetal reservoir supplies the Märkisches Sauerland water grid which covers approximately 200,000 consumers. It forms part of the Ruhrverband's integrated reservoir cascade management, with water transfers possible between Verse, Bigge, and the larger Möhne reservoir during drought periods. The surrounding Versetal valley is protected as a landscape conservation area, and the rocky hillsides support populations of peregrine falcon and raven which nest on the steep rocky outcrops above the dam. A shoreline footpath offers accessible recreation, and the Versetal visitor centre provides information about water management in the Sauerland. Turbidity and microbiological quality indicators are continuously monitored by the Ruhrverband's environmental laboratory.