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Israel-Hamas war Trump hush money trial College campus protests Kentucky Derby 2024 Dua Lipa World News Paris inaugurates giant water storage basin to clean up the River Seine for Olympic swimming French officials inaugurated a huge water storage basin meant to help clean up the River Seine, set to be the venue for marathon swimming at the Paris Games and the swimming leg of the Olympic and Paralympic triathlons. (AP video: Oleg Cetinic) Photos 6 Paris' mayor Anne Hidalgo and other officials attend the inauguration of the Austerlitz wastewater and rainwater storage basin, which is intended to make the Seine river swimmable during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Paris, Thursday, May 2, 2024. The works underground next to Paris' Austerlitz train station are part of a 1.5 billion euro effort to clean up the Seine so it can host marathon swimming and triathlon events at the July 26-Aug 11 Summer Games and be opened to the general public for swimming from 2025. (Stephane de Sakutin, Pool via AP) 1 of 6 | Paris' mayor Anne Hidalgo and other officials attend the inauguration of the Austerlitz wastewater and rainwater storage basin, which is intended to make the Seine river swimmable during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Paris, Thursday, May 2, 2024. The works underground next to Paris' Austerlitz train station are part of a 1.5 billion euro effort to clean up the Seine so it can host marathon swimming and triathlon events at the July 26-Aug 11 Summer Games and be opened to the general public for swimming from 2025. (Stephane de Sakutin, Pool via AP) Read More 1 of 6 Paris' mayor Anne Hidalgo and other officials attend the inauguration of the Austerlitz wastewater and rainwater storage basin, which is intended to make the Seine river swimmable during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Paris, Thursday, May 2, 2024. The works underground next to Paris' Austerlitz train station are part of a 1.5 billion euro effort to clean up the Seine so it can host marathon swimming and triathlon events at the July 26-Aug 11 Summer Games and be opened to the general public for swimming from 2025. (Stephane de Sakutin, Pool via AP) Share Share * Copy Link copied * Email * Facebook * X * Reddit * LinkedIn * Pinterest * Flipboard * Print Read More Paris' mayor Anne Hidalgo, left, and President of the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics Organizing Committee Tony Estanguet the Austerlitz inaugurate the wastewater and rainwater storage basin, which is intended to make the Seine river swimmable during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Paris, Thursday, May 2, 2024. The works underground next to Paris' Austerlitz train station are part of a 1.5 billion euro effort to clean up the Seine so it can host marathon swimming and triathlon events at the July 26-Aug 11 Summer Games and be opened to the general public for swimming from 2025. (Stephane de Sakutin, Pool via AP) 2 of 6 | Paris' mayor Anne Hidalgo, left, and President of the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics Organizing Committee Tony Estanguet the Austerlitz inaugurate the wastewater and rainwater storage basin, which is intended to make the Seine river swimmable during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Paris, Thursday, May 2, 2024. The works underground next to Paris' Austerlitz train station are part of a 1.5 billion euro effort to clean up the Seine so it can host marathon swimming and triathlon events at the July 26-Aug 11 Summer Games and be opened to the general public for swimming from 2025. (Stephane de Sakutin, Pool via AP) Read More 2 of 6 Paris' mayor Anne Hidalgo, left, and President of the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics Organizing Committee Tony Estanguet the Austerlitz inaugurate the wastewater and rainwater storage basin, which is intended to make the Seine river swimmable during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Paris, Thursday, May 2, 2024. The works underground next to Paris' Austerlitz train station are part of a 1.5 billion euro effort to clean up the Seine so it can host marathon swimming and triathlon events at the July 26-Aug 11 Summer Games and be opened to the general public for swimming from 2025. (Stephane de Sakutin, Pool via AP) Share Share * Copy Link copied * Email * Facebook * X * Reddit * LinkedIn * Pinterest * Flipboard * Print Read More A man walks in the Austerlitz wastewater and rainwater storage basin, which is intended to make the Seine river swimmable during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Paris, during its inauguration Thursday, May 2, 2024. The works underground next to Paris' Austerlitz train station are part of a 1.5 billion euro effort to clean up the Seine so it can host marathon swimming and triathlon events at the July 26-Aug 11 Summer Games and be opened to the general public for swimming from 2025. (Stephane de Sakutin, Pool via AP) 3 of 6 | A man walks in the Austerlitz wastewater and rainwater storage basin, which is intended to make the Seine river swimmable during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Paris, during its inauguration Thursday, May 2, 2024. The works underground next to Paris' Austerlitz train station are part of a 1.5 billion euro effort to clean up the Seine so it can host marathon swimming and triathlon events at the July 26-Aug 11 Summer Games and be opened to the general public for swimming from 2025. (Stephane de Sakutin, Pool via AP) Read More 3 of 6 A man walks in the Austerlitz wastewater and rainwater storage basin, which is intended to make the Seine river swimmable during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Paris, during its inauguration Thursday, May 2, 2024. The works underground next to Paris' Austerlitz train station are part of a 1.5 billion euro effort to clean up the Seine so it can host marathon swimming and triathlon events at the July 26-Aug 11 Summer Games and be opened to the general public for swimming from 2025. (Stephane de Sakutin, Pool via AP) Share Share * Copy Link copied * Email * Facebook * X * Reddit * LinkedIn * Pinterest * Flipboard * Print Read More A man walks in the Austerlitz wastewater and rainwater storage basin, which is intended to make the Seine river swimmable during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Paris, during its inauguration Thursday, May 2, 2024. The works underground next to Paris' Austerlitz train station are part of a 1.5 billion euro effort to clean up the Seine so it can host marathon swimming and triathlon events at the July 26-Aug 11 Summer Games and be opened to the general public for swimming from 2025. (Stephane de Sakutin, Pool via AP) 4 of 6 | A man walks in the Austerlitz wastewater and rainwater storage basin, which is intended to make the Seine river swimmable during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Paris, during its inauguration Thursday, May 2, 2024. The works underground next to Paris' Austerlitz train station are part of a 1.5 billion euro effort to clean up the Seine so it can host marathon swimming and triathlon events at the July 26-Aug 11 Summer Games and be opened to the general public for swimming from 2025. (Stephane de Sakutin, Pool via AP) Read More 4 of 6 A man walks in the Austerlitz wastewater and rainwater storage basin, which is intended to make the Seine river swimmable during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Paris, during its inauguration Thursday, May 2, 2024. The works underground next to Paris' Austerlitz train station are part of a 1.5 billion euro effort to clean up the Seine so it can host marathon swimming and triathlon events at the July 26-Aug 11 Summer Games and be opened to the general public for swimming from 2025. (Stephane de Sakutin, Pool via AP) Share Share * Copy Link copied * Email * Facebook * X * Reddit * LinkedIn * Pinterest * Flipboard * Print Read More The Austerlitz wastewater and rainwater storage basin, which is intended to make the Seine river swimmable during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, is seen during its inauguration Thursday, May 2, 2024 in Paris. The works underground next to Paris' Austerlitz train station are part of a 1.5 billion euro effort to clean up the Seine so it can host marathon swimming and triathlon events at the July 26-Aug 11 Summer Games and be opened to the general public for swimming from 2025. (Stephane de Sakutin, Pool via AP) 5 of 6 | The Austerlitz wastewater and rainwater storage basin, which is intended to make the Seine river swimmable during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, is seen during its inauguration Thursday, May 2, 2024 in Paris. The works underground next to Paris' Austerlitz train station are part of a 1.5 billion euro effort to clean up the Seine so it can host marathon swimming and triathlon events at the July 26-Aug 11 Summer Games and be opened to the general public for swimming from 2025. (Stephane de Sakutin, Pool via AP) Read More 5 of 6 The Austerlitz wastewater and rainwater storage basin, which is intended to make the Seine river swimmable during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, is seen during its inauguration Thursday, May 2, 2024 in Paris. The works underground next to Paris' Austerlitz train station are part of a 1.5 billion euro effort to clean up the Seine so it can host marathon swimming and triathlon events at the July 26-Aug 11 Summer Games and be opened to the general public for swimming from 2025. (Stephane de Sakutin, Pool via AP) Share Share * Copy Link copied * Email * Facebook * X * Reddit * LinkedIn * Pinterest * Flipboard * Print Read More The Austerlitz wastewater and rainwater storage basin, which is intended to make the Seine river swimmable during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, is seen during its inauguration Thursday, May 2, 2024 in Paris. The works underground next to Paris' Austerlitz train station are part of a 1.5 billion euro effort to clean up the Seine so it can host marathon swimming and triathlon events at the July 26-Aug 11 Summer Games and be opened to the general public for swimming from 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena) 6 of 6 | The Austerlitz wastewater and rainwater storage basin, which is intended to make the Seine river swimmable during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, is seen during its inauguration Thursday, May 2, 2024 in Paris. The works underground next to Paris' Austerlitz train station are part of a 1.5 billion euro effort to clean up the Seine so it can host marathon swimming and triathlon events at the July 26-Aug 11 Summer Games and be opened to the general public for swimming from 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena) Read More 6 of 6 The Austerlitz wastewater and rainwater storage basin, which is intended to make the Seine river swimmable during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, is seen during its inauguration Thursday, May 2, 2024 in Paris. The works underground next to Paris' Austerlitz train station are part of a 1.5 billion euro effort to clean up the Seine so it can host marathon swimming and triathlon events at the July 26-Aug 11 Summer Games and be opened to the general public for swimming from 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena) Share Share * Copy Link copied * Email * Facebook * X * Reddit * LinkedIn * Pinterest * Flipboard * Print Read More [] By SYLVIE CORBET Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] Share Share * Copy Link copied * Email * Facebook * X * Reddit * LinkedIn * Pinterest * Flipboard * Print PARIS (AP) -- French officials inaugurated on Thursday a huge water storage basin meant to help clean up the River Seine, set to be the venue for marathon swimming at the Paris Games and the swimming leg of the Olympic and Paralympic triathlons. Sports minister Amelie Oudea-Castera praised Paris' ability "to provide athletes from all over the world with an exceptional setting on the Seine for their events." Last year, swimming test events had to be canceled due to poor water quality. One reason was heavy rains that overwhelmed the city's old sewers, causing a mix of rainwater and untreated sewage to flow into the Seine and leaving safety standards unmet. Paris' mayor Anne Hidalgo, left, and President of the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics Organizing Committee Tony Estanguet the Austerlitz inaugurate the wastewater and rainwater storage basin, which is intended to make the Seine river swimmable during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Paris, Thursday, May 2, 2024. The works underground next to Paris' Austerlitz train station are part of a 1.5 billion euro effort to clean up the Seine so it can host marathon swimming and triathlon events at the July 26-Aug 11 Summer Games and be opened to the general public for swimming from 2025. (Stephane de Sakutin, Pool via AP) Paris' mayor Anne Hidalgo, left, and President of the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics Organizing Committee Tony Estanguet the Austerlitz inaugurate the wastewater and rainwater storage basin, which is intended to make the Seine river swimmable during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Paris, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (Stephane de Sakutin, Pool via AP) The giant reservoir dug next to Paris' Austerlitz train station aims to collect excess rainwater and prevent bacteria-laden wastewater from entering the Seine. It can hold the equivalent of 20 Olympic swimming pools of dirty water that will now be treated rather than being spat raw through storm drains into the river. "We are on time," the prefect of the Paris region, Marc Guillaume, said. "The beginning of the Games will coincide with water quality allowing competition. That's a tremendous collective success." READ MORE FILE - A visitor looks through the clock of the Orsay museum, overlooking Paris, Oct. 16, 2014. Short-term rental giant Airbnb is listing 11 iconic locations, including the Orsay, for a limited time in a splashy new marketing campaign. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File) Want to spend the night in a Paris museum or a house owned by Prince? Airbnb plans to list them Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks to reporters at his office in Tokyo Tuesday, April 30, 2024. Kishida acknowledged Tuesday that his governing party's major defeat in the weekend's by-elections was due to a slush fund scandal, but said he would not step down or replace party executives to take responsibility. (Kyodo News via AP) Japan's Kishida will stress rules-based global order, support for emerging nations at OECD meeting Supporters of the Lebanese Communist party take a selfie, as they march during a demonstration to mark International Labor Day or May Day, in Beirut, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Despite the tense situation and ongoing clashes on Lebanon's border with Israel over the past seven months, hundreds of protesters marched through Beirut's streets to mark International Workers' Day. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) Pro-Palestinian banners. Blazing Olympic rings. Workers' May Day rallies confront turbulent times Paris mayor Anne Hildago promised she would herself swim in the Seine before the Olympics -- possibly alongside President Emmanuel Macron. The new storage basin "guarantees" that water can be stored even during severe storms, and will help water levels to "return to normal as quickly as possible," she said. The opening of the basin is the latest step toward a cleaner river and comes as part of a series of newly-built facilities, including a water treatment plant in Champigny-sur-Marne, east of Paris, that was inaugurated last month. Paris' mayor Anne Hidalgo and other officials attend the inauguration of the Austerlitz wastewater and rainwater storage basin, which is intended to make the Seine river swimmable during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Paris, Thursday, May 2, 2024. The works underground next to Paris' Austerlitz train station are part of a 1.5 billion euro effort to clean up the Seine so it can host marathon swimming and triathlon events at the July 26-Aug 11 Summer Games and be opened to the general public for swimming from 2025. (Stephane de Sakutin, Pool via AP) Paris' mayor Anne Hidalgo and other officials attend the inauguration of the Austerlitz wastewater and rainwater storage basin, which is intended to make the Seine river swimmable during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Paris, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (Stephane de Sakutin, Pool via AP) During the Olympics, water will be tested at 3 a.m. each day to determine whether events can go ahead as planned. If results were not up to the standards, events could be delayed by a few days, organizers said. The estimated cost of the cleanup efforts amount to 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion), paid by the state and local authorities. "For more than ten years already, we've seen a very significant improvement of the Seine water quality and our river's fishes and wildlife are back," Hidalgo said. About 35 fish species are now living in the Paris section of the river, up from only three in the 1970s, when waters were extremely polluted due to nearby industrial activities. The Austerlitz wastewater and rainwater storage basin, which is intended to make the Seine river swimmable during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, is seen during its inauguration Thursday, May 2, 2024 in Paris. The works underground next to Paris' Austerlitz train station are part of a 1.5 billion euro effort to clean up the Seine so it can host marathon swimming and triathlon events at the July 26-Aug 11 Summer Games and be opened to the general public for swimming from 2025. (Stephane de Sakutin, Pool via AP) The Austerlitz wastewater and rainwater storage basin, which is intended to make the Seine river swimmable during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, is seen during its inauguration Thursday, May 2, 2024 in Paris. (Stephane de Sakutin, Pool via AP) For decades, the Seine was used mainly as a waterway to transport goods and people or as a watery grave for discarded bicycles and other trash. Swimming there has, with some exceptions, been illegal since 1923. Paris officials are planning to open several bathing sites to the general public in the summer, starting from next year. The River Seine also is to be at the heart of the grandiose opening ceremony for the Olympics that will see over 200 athletes' delegations parade on more that 80 boats in central Paris. ___ AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games ___ AP journalists Oleg Cetinic and Masha Macpherson contributed to the story. SYLVIE CORBET SYLVIE CORBET Corbet is an Associated Press reporter based in Paris. She covers French politics, diplomacy and defense as well as gender issues and breaking news. twitter [] The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. 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