Nidau-Büren Channel is a 12 km (7.5 mi) long channel that drains the waters of the Aare River out of the Lake of Biel/Bienne toward Solothurn

Solothurn

The city of Solothurn is the capital of the Canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. The city also comprises the only municipality of the district of the same name.-Pre-roman settlement:...

. It was dug as an important part of the first Jura water correction

Jura water correction

The correction of the waters of the Swiss Jura consisted in a wide series of hydrological undertakings carried out in Switzerland in the region of the three lakes: Lake Morat connected to Lake Neuchâtel by the Broye canal, the latter connected to Lake of Bienne by the Thielle canal, an area so...

.

Regulating dam

A temporary dam had been built across the Nidau-Büren channel, in order to maintain the water level in the lake.
Of insufficient retaining capacity, another one was erected in 1887 that also showed its limits, especially during a flood in 1910. Soon, the cantons of Vaud

Vaud

Vaud is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland and is located in Romandy, the French-speaking southwestern part of the country. The capital is Lausanne. The name of the Canton in Switzerland's other languages are Vaud in Italian , Waadt in German , and Vad in Romansh.-History:Along the lakes,...

, Neuchâtel and Fribourg

Fribourg

Fribourg is the capital of the Swiss canton of Fribourg and the district of Sarine. It is located on both sides of the river Saane/Sarine, on the Swiss plateau, and is an important economic, administrative and educational center on the cultural border between German and French Switzerland...

 required its replacement, but it was only modified in 1911 and 1915.

Finally, the building of the new regulating dam

Regulating Dam Port, Seeland, Switzerland

thumb|500px|right|Map of the area following the construction of the canalDuring the first Jura water correction, a temporary dam had been built across the Nidau-Büren channel in order to maintain the water level in Lake Bienne...

 was started in Port

Port

A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....

 in 1936, and it was completed and commissioned in 1939 and has been daily in use ever since. The dam includes a 12 by 25 m (39.4 by 82 ft) lock

Lock (water transport)

A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is...

 that is large enough for tour boats that run between Biel and Solothurn. In 1995 a hydroelectric

Hydroelectricity

Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...

 plant was added to the lock. This plant, located near Brügg

Brugg

Brugg or Brügg may refer to the following places:* In Switzerland:** Brugg, Aargau, in the Canton of Aargau*** FC Brugg, a Swiss football club, from the town of Brugg in Canton Aargau...

 produces an average of 25 Million Kilowatt-hours per year.