The impoundment of the Lac de Serre-Ponçon began on November 16, 1959, and was completed on May 18, 1961. It inspired the film L'Eau vive, whose screenwriter Jean Giono said: It is not that she (the Durance river) is mean, but for her, good and evil are the same. The level of the lake oscillates between 2,368 ft (722 m) at low water and for peaks of electrical or agricultural use and 2,559 ft (780 m) of altitude.