. Lombardi considers it one of his most aesthetically pleasing dams, primarily because of the slenderness of the concrete arch and the "outstanding cleanness of the design." The design also reduced the amount of concrete needed, therefore reducing the cost as well. Spillways The dam has two spillways, each located on the structure, near its abutments on either side which have a maximum discharge capacity of . Each spillway contains six fixed-crest weirs that are wide. From each opening, the water flows down a single chute to a flip bucket at the bottom of the spillway. The flip buckets dissipate and deflect the water towards the center axis of the valley below. The spillways were later modified to improve releases and function by increasing the size of the piers and adding additional lateral deflectors near the crest. Power plant The dam supports a 105 MW power station that contains 3 x 35 MW Francis turbines and generates an average of 234 GWh annually. Water from the reservoir at above sea level is transferred to an underground power station downstream at above sea level, affording a maximum hydraulic head of . The power plant can discharge up to of water which exits via a tailrace tunnel into Lago di Verbano. The builder and owner is Verzasca SA; which has an 80-year concession on the power station which will expire in 2046. In popular culture The opening scene of the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye featured Bond jumping off the dam. The stunt was performed by British stuntman Wayne Michaels. The jump was voted as best movie stunt of all time in a 2002 Sky Movies poll. The dam doubled as the fictional Arkhangelsk Chemical Weapons Facility located in the northern Soviet Union during the Cold War. The dam owners started to lease access to the dam, soon after GoldenEye was released, to a commercial bungee jump operator. According to the operator, over 10,000 people have jumped the 220 m (720 ft) from the dam. Contestants bungee jumped off the dam as a Roadblock task in the first episode of the 14th season of The Amazing Race and the fifth episode of the 33rd season. The climax scene of the Indian Bollywood movie Dhoom 3 was shot at this dam. Notes and references External links Dam profile - Swiss Committee on Dams Bungee jumping at the dam (photographs and video) Trekking-Team, bungy