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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2016 10:31:07 GMT
I already made a report about the Canal Saint Martin seven years ago. Anybody who hasn't seen it can read it here. It has had its ups and downs over the years and strikes different people in different ways, from picturesque to seedy without forgetting dirty, smelly, beautiful, historical, and numerous other adjectives. I would personally describe most of it now as "trendy" as it is a magnet for hipsters and bobos who like to find areas with cute bars and restaurants with just a touch of nasty, to make them feel like they are living on the edge. A lot of them moved to the area, which used to be cheap, but it certainly isn't anymore. Anyway, the point of this report is that the canal is drained and cleaned every 10-15 years, and that is what is happening since yesterday. The last cleaning took place during the winter of 2001-2002 and they removed 40 tonnes of rubbish that time. There is a special company in charge of collecting the fish before drainage. I believe I read that the fish are transferred into the Seine. I couldn't wait, so I went to Stalingrad this morning to see what was going on. That is the first section to be emptied as they work their way to the Seine.
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Post by breeze on Jan 5, 2016 12:05:25 GMT
How long is this expected to take, kerouac? And maybe you can answer this--I've argued about it with my husband--do they start work at the upper end or the lower end?
We like to spend part of each trip to France walking along the Mayenne, and for several years it was being drained and dredged, section by section. It did not smell good but on the plus side, you could see the locks, the weirs, and all the structures right down to the bottom.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2016 12:14:34 GMT
They start at the upper end and follow the draining water. It would be much more complicated to try to work "uphill" with water.
The canal is scheduled to reopen on April 4th. Besides cleaning the canal, they also have to fix quite a bit of masonry, and they will also be repairing the bridges where necessary, particularly the ones where the steps are worn out.
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Post by lagatta on Jan 5, 2016 14:30:51 GMT
And the bodies?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2016 14:50:04 GMT
None announced yet.
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Post by whatagain on Jan 5, 2016 16:47:25 GMT
No news of my mother in law then ?
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Post by mossie on Jan 5, 2016 17:34:21 GMT
You will get found out eventually Pariswat.
It always amazes me how many bicycles and shopping trolleys end up in urban rivers and canals. Remember seeing a barge absolutely loaded with stuff dredged from canals in Amsterdam.
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Post by nukesafe on Jan 5, 2016 17:48:56 GMT
Great report, Kerouac! I'm looking forward to your follow-up photos. In particular I am interested to see if they find the TA bodies you and Pariswat put there. :-)
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Post by patricklondon on Jan 5, 2016 18:01:07 GMT
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Post by htmb on Jan 5, 2016 21:10:40 GMT
I'm guessing it's a really good idea this is being done during he winter for lots of reasons. It would probably stink to high heaven in the summer (and I'm sure it couldn't be done then anyway).
It looks like there might be a few fish visible in one of the photos. Do you know how they are collected, Kerouac? Nets?
I'm looking forward to following the progress of the cleaning and repair. This is sure to make for another very interesting report.
Just looking at the photos, it seems like I was there a hundred years ago, rather than last July.
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Post by chexbres on Jan 5, 2016 21:55:57 GMT
The TV news reports said that the people in charge were making sure to capture every last fish, before getting on with the cleaning. They didn't specify how they were caught, but said that they would be released in the Seine and would eventually find their way back to the canal system once it was re-opened. I would like to be there when the water starts flowing back to the canal again.
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Post by htmb on Jan 5, 2016 22:38:39 GMT
After I asked that question I came across this article with a picture of workers using nets. The Telegraph
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 6, 2016 5:50:53 GMT
This is fascinating! So many bicycles and a whole motorcycle. Wonder what the oddest thing they find will be. It would be cool to have an exhibition of everything. That first picture after you say there are things you can't identify looks like an industrial light fixture of some kind. Probably if they let the scavengers in, they'd have the place cleared out in no time, but it would no doubt mean more work for rescue teams.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2016 6:07:53 GMT
They were also worried about people trying to find personal items, as in "I know the EXACT spot where my keys fell in the water."
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 6, 2016 8:14:46 GMT
The bike in the 4th picture down looks as though it just fell in. Very nice picture of the seagulls in the preceding photo, incidentally.
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Post by bjd on Jan 6, 2016 8:24:18 GMT
I think the bikes are mostly stolen and thrown away rather than "falling in". Cynical of me, I know.
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Post by lagatta on Jan 6, 2016 10:00:35 GMT
I think bjd is right. That also happens a lot in Amsterdam. Though Velibs have turned up - in working order - very far from Paris.
They also dredge the canals in Amsterdam, but I doubt they drain them, except under very exceptional circumstances.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2016 11:13:59 GMT
Vélibs are constantly stolen -- usually ripped loose from the hitching posts in the middle of the night. As soon as they have a flat tire or some other problem, the users dispose of them and steal another one. Kind of silly to go to so much trouble -- and risk -- when a yearly subscription costs just 29 euros for people like me and the youth and social assistance subscriptions cost 19 euros a year. That translates to a rate of 0.05€ a day to use them legally.
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Post by whatagain on Jan 6, 2016 11:22:17 GMT
I pay 39€ per year, which allows me to cycle 45 min instead of 30. - if you go over the limit you are liable to pay (1€ per quarter I think) Kind of silly since I have an accumulated 'reserve time' of 750 min now. - you accumulate quarters when you drop the bike at special velib stations.
I agree that cycles end up in the water more by 'game' (...) than for any other reason - no need to ditch the velib in the water - just leave it on the road, it will be picked up, no question asked.
I'll take a walk in the coming weeks...
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2016 11:27:11 GMT
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Post by patricklondon on Jan 6, 2016 12:44:39 GMT
Some day I'll have to check and see what they do near me. On the Thames, they have quite large boats scooping up floating rubbish, and on the canals I've seen smaller versions (coping also with summer algae blooms), but I don't think there's a systematic programme of draining and dredging. On one of the canals they did close a bit for more substantial repairs and took the opportunity to have a clearout of the bed as well, but that doesnt' seem to be a regular thing. My blog | My photos | My video clips"too literate to be spam"
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Post by htmb on Jan 6, 2016 20:55:21 GMT
I'm not surprised to see cans and bottles, but that's a lot! Don't they also clean periodically without draining the canal, so this is what's left over AFTER the regular maintenance?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2016 21:47:21 GMT
Over the years, I have seen garbage boats scooping floating matter out of the canal, but I don't think that any such boats try to scrape the nasty bottom. As you can see from the photos above, they would probably get stuck on so many different objects.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2016 9:57:10 GMT
The fact that it is January definitely helps to keep the odours down, but today I got little whiffs of "rot" here and there. Things that do not rot when they are submerged often start doing so when they are exposed to open air. If we get a warm sunny day, it's going to be a total game changer for the aromas. Luckily, it is supposed to get colder and colder over the next two weeks. There were a lot of workers down in the canal today. Priority seems to be to collect Vélib bikes and put them in groups, as I'm sure that the city and JC Décaux want a complete inventory of them. Since they all have serial numbers, it will probably make for some interesting statistics, such as oldest Vélib in the canal or the Vélib that came from the farthest station to end its career in the canal. In fact, you can see that the workers are wearing JC Décaux vests, so this is a sort of pre-cleanup team just for that.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2016 10:03:13 GMT
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Post by gabriele on Jan 9, 2016 11:30:06 GMT
The photo below your text "There were a few objects that I could not identify."
looks to be a stand (once bolted to sidewalk or such) which would hold trash bags (the inner form) with the trash being inserted through the hoods on top. Lift the hood, remove and replace the bags and haul the litter away. The hoods would deter (maybe) people from digging thru the trash or being rained on or blown away.
Fisherman's waders would seem more practical but they can also be more dangerous. Maybe they were wetsuit feet and bottoms under the clothing for safety and comfort. I certainly would. Such workers would be in unions, yes?
Nice seeing the work being done but really looking forward to the refurbished canal. I like the area also although the time I was going to take the canal ride it rained heavily (and I'm used to rain) so I cancelled.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 9, 2016 14:53:31 GMT
That stuffed toy is so clean!
The picture where you wonder if they're going to be able to recycle the stuff -- wine bottles, pvc pipe, and avocado pits(?!) -- made me wonder what will be done with all the sludge from the canal floor. Will they put it with the municipal compost from tree chippings and the like, or will it go into landfill?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2016 16:56:59 GMT
I'm sure that there will be articles with all of the details in the coming weeks.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2016 17:07:10 GMT
Even the deeper locks are empty now. These bottles in the lock can definitely be recycled. They probably stayed cleaner due to the gushing water during the lock maneuvers. Wow, what if there was a hard freeze now? (None expected.) Please have a seat in the waiting room. The seagulls are not happy anymore. If they move away, nobody will complain. Reply to a recent question: the mud and sludge will be taken on barges down the Canal Saint Denis to be analysed before being sent to the most appropriate treatment centre. The signs also said that the fish will find their way back by natural means in April. They are not planning to "stock the pond." Maybe the autoroutes will be paved with this stuff in a couple of years. Two seagulls discuss whether to winter in Deauville or Le Touquet. This is actually a smaller project than the work that was done in 2001-2002, because they are not draining the underground section between the Faubourg du Temple and Bastille this time. Since nobody can throw trash into it there, it obviously requires much less maintenance, even though the fact that it is downstream ensures that there must be a bit of nastiness that has made its way there. Probably the very last section between Bastille and the Seine would need a good cleaning, but all of the users of the small craft harbour will certainly have a hissy fit if they are exiled for a month or two. It would also mean draining the tunnel section unless they were to build a temporary lock to hold the water. (Due to not draining the tunnel section, they were only expecting to remove 4.5 tonnes of fish from the canal as opposed to 6 tonnes last time.)
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Post by mossie on Jan 10, 2016 20:15:19 GMT
You joke about paving the autoroute with the junk, but we did use sea dredged gravel in our paving. Also some people now use crushed glass also, the angular shape aids stability in the mixed material. Interesting that the operation of the lock washes the bottles, perhaps they can go back to the brewery for reuse.
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