L'Aqueduc de la Dhuys

The aqueduct of the Dhuys (or Dhuis, pronounce the "s") was built between 1863 and 1865 at the request of Napoleon III (1808-1873) to carry water from the Dhuys, a river that flows into the Surmelin itself and then into the Marne. It starts in Pargny-la-Dhuys (near Château-Thierry) and ends in the Ménilmontant reservoir (20th arrondissement of Paris). Mostly buried, its total length is 131 km; it crosses 4 departments: Aisne, Seine-et-Marne, Seine-Saint-Denis and Paris. The aqueduct starts at an altitude of 128 m and arrives at 108 m in the capital, it is this slight slope that allows the water to flow, by simple gravity. The underground work measures in places 2.20 m high and 1.80 m wide. As with most aqueducts, there are manholes along its course. Very few of them are still present near Paris, however, one can see "PH" (Hectometric Points), a kind of milestone indicating the distance, in hectometers, from Pargny-la-Dhuys. It currently supplies Disneyland Paris.

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