Until the beginning of the 1970s, the city of Metz was supplied with water by the Moselle river and the Gorze stream. A water reservoir, Madine Lake, was created in 1971 near the village of Nonsard-Lamarche on the Madine river. An upstream dam allows the opening of floodgates to supplement, whenever necessary, the flow of the Rupt of Mad river, which supplies the city. Over the years, Madine Lake has also become a refuge for more than 250 bird species and numerous mammals and a site protected by Natura 2000.