Waterways

Paris inaugurates giant water storage basin to clean up the River Seine for Olympic swimming

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PARIS — 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 Amélie Oudéa-Castéra praised Paris’ ability “to provide athletes from all over … Read more

Paris will become a no-fly zone to safeguard its wildly ambitious Olympic opening ceremony

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PARIS — Skies over the Paris region will be closed for six hours as part of the massive security operation for the July 26 opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, the Paris airports operator said Wednesday. Augustin de Romanet, chairman of Aéroports de Paris, said airlines are being warned in advance about the closure and … Read more

Paris mayor is confident that water quality will allow Olympic swimming in the River Seine

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PARIS — Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo said she was confident water quality in the River Seine will be up to Olympic standards this summer — and that she’ll be able to prove it by swimming there, possibly alongside President Emmanuel Macron. The Seine is the venue for marathon swimming at the Games and the swimming … Read more

Oxford coach blasts Thames pollution as a national disgrace ahead of Boat Race with Cambridge

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LONDON — The coach of Oxford’s crew taking part in the Boat Race described the pollution in London’s River Thames as a “national disgrace.” Testing by a campaign group has found high levels of E.coli along a section of the Thames in southwest London that will be used for the historic race on Saturday. Crew … Read more

Latest EPA assessment shows almost no improvement in river and stream nitrogen pollution

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ST. LOUIS — The nation’s rivers and streams remain stubbornly polluted with nutrients that contaminate drinking water and fuel a gigantic dead zone for aquatic life in the Gulf of Mexico, according to a recently released Environmental Protection Agency assessment. It’s a difficult problem that’s concentrated in agricultural regions that drain into the Mississippi River. … Read more

Tons of trash clogs a river in Bosnia. It’s a seasonal problem that activists want an end to

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VISEGRAD, Bosnia-Herzegovina — With predictable seasonality, tons of garbage floats down a river at least twice a year and ends up near the eastern Bosnian town of Visegrad behind a barrier installed by a local hydroelectric plant. An environmental activist watched as workers removed trash from the river. “New year, new problems or rather old … Read more