This earliest operation of this installation dates back to 1852. It was created in order to aid navigation.
The construction of the dam continued in 1855 with the construction of a fish ladder, to let migrating fish go back up the river.
But this ladder was not very effective. In 1872, the ladder was rebuilt, but it was noticed that migrating fish such as salmon, lamprey, sole… no longer went up the Dordogne River. In 1887, improvements were made again.