2024-05-02 16:29:12
The equivalent of 20 Olympic swimming pools of rain and wastewater can be stored in this cylinder, 50 meters in diameter and 30 meters deep. STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP
DECRYPTION – This immense rainwater and wastewater retention tank, supposed to limit pollution of the Seine in the event of storms, was inaugurated Thursday, three months before the Olympic Games events planned in the river.
Wedged between the wall of the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital and the pillars of the aerial metro, in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, the brand new Austerlitz basin is immense, but invisible. This underground tank, 50 meters in diameter, more than 30 meters deep, is supported by around twenty reinforced concrete pillars which give it the appearance of a cathedral..
This emblematic work of the 1.4 billion euro plan aimed at making the Seine swimmable was inaugurated with great fanfare on Thursday, less than three months before the Olympic Games. « It’s a great day for Paris 2024 », declared Tony Estanguet, president of the Olympic Organizing Committee. This basin will according to him « allow you to approach this summer’s competitions with serenity ». For the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, it is also about « realize our childhood dream » : dive into the river that crosses the capital. Thirty-two bathing sites are due to open to the public from next year on the Seine and the Marne. « Sans…
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