The Lost River Of Paris

Victor Hugo wrote about the Bièvre. Now conservation efforts are bringing parts of the historic waterway back.

- Mary Winston Nicklin

A river used to meander through my Left Bank neighborhood in Paris. From the southern city limit that's now Parc Kellermann in the 13th arrondissement, the Bièvre fed mills and tanneries before its confluence with the Seine in the 5th arrondissement. But by the early 20th century, the Bièvre had become so odoriferous and polluted that it had been buried underground, its water diverted into the sewers.

Although the Seine evokes romance, the Bièvre is largely unknown to the millions of travelers who visit the French capital every year. But many Parisians have harbored a long-standing dream of resurrecting a river that, to them, has taken on mythic status. This dream is now close to becoming a reality. In recent years, sections of the river have been reopened in upstream suburbs, and the Paris mayor's office has launched a feasibility study to look at uncovering stretches in the city. The renaissance of the Bièvre reflects a green shift in city planning. There's new momentum for this project as we face the climate crisis, increasing heat waves, and the threat to biodiversity, says Dan Lert, the deputy mayor overseeing Paris's ecological transition, climate plan, water, and energy. “We can't continue the way we used to with urban development.

The Bièvre bubbles up from its source in Guyancourt, roughly 22 miles southwest of Paris. From this boulder-strewn stream, it snakes through the land, spilling into ponds that fed the fountains at the Palace of Versailles and hydrating a string of suburbs. Today fewer than 13 miles of this route are in broad daylight, and the river's waters are funneled into a sewage-treatment plant just outside Paris.