This mini waterfall actually comes from one of the many water taps that you can come across along the Paris sidewalks. Every day, according to the Paris town hall website, about 2 400 km (1590 miles) are cleaned with the help of this water system - and sanitation workers dressed in neon green suits with big green plastic brooms! Sometimes this water has other uses, like in this photo from last year.
Hey Eric, lovely photo. I especially love the reference to the "green men" - and they're not even from Mars.
ReplyDeleteI came across this link to a site that says, "This is a project that was begun with the intention of celebrating in paint, the fantastic life and work of the Little Green Men of Paris."
Pretty interesting...
I like the link you made to the other photo as well. Something for everybody in Paris!
Nice photo. Do they really have water running across the streets to help with the cleaning???
ReplyDeleteI don't think that water is potable (drinkable), beacuse it would be a real waste. But, on the other hand, if it's not, then it's a huge source of diseases!!!
BTW, nice pictures in the link Michael provided.
Would love to have a picture of Eric capturing this waterfall!...
ReplyDeleteEric, we want details about this shot: how wet did you get? Difficult not to smile thinking of the photograph posture catching this.
But what a pic! Whatever the posture was, it's worth it. Eric you manage to make a "caniveau" looks nice and fresh. Well done.
See ya.
Hi Eric!
ReplyDeleteWhen I first saw the water flowing out from the sidewalks of Paris when I visited last time, I thought, the drains have been clogged and water is overflowing out.
Then I saw people sweeping and cleaning the roads. How interesting....
thats why your city always beauty and clean...
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite "morning memories" of a typical Paris morning is to see the water in the streets, sometimes rushing down the gutters, and the sound of the green brushes sweeping away the debris from the previous evening. However, I'm still mesmerized by all those mirrors from yesterday...wait..I finally found the hand dryer; now I can get out of there. Very glad you are back and full of surprises! Merci!
ReplyDeleteAnd a happy Labor Day to my fellow countrymen/women in the U.S. Don't "rest" too hard today!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the Labor Day greeting, Michael. I think I'll restrict my labors to lifting and utilizing a rather hefty corkscrew and thereby illustrate just how manual efforts can be succeeded and rewarded by an extended horizontal condition.
ReplyDeleteRather than in the "beholder's eye," it's obvious in "Waterfalls" that, "Beauty is in the eye of the 'photographer,'" at least that certainly is the case here with Eric at Paris Daily Photo.
i always find this 'mini waterfall' cleaning system clever. Workers turn it on when needs to weep the street, then off when finish...
ReplyDeletei went to see your photo last year via the link too... pigeons... :-! and am just taking advantage to say... : cities are not places for birds, they get sick... how many time i've seen pigeons walking with only one leg... or crashed by car... they have no food to eat but only dog-shit or vomit (not kidding i've seen them fighting for those... :-S )... they are polluted or polluting i don't know. i just don't understand why we don't reorient them to parks or somewhere more suitable... am i saying too much ?
But Michelle, how do you REALLY feel?
ReplyDeleteI now understand thanks to Eric's photo and the explanation. I thought it was a overflow sewage problem when I saw the water spewing from the streets when we were in Paris last year.
ReplyDeleteso THAT'S how they keep paris streets so clean....
ReplyDeleteAntigone Rising: right that i didn't precise, pigeons are perhaps the least i like in Paris ;) that perhaps birds lovers should do something :!
ReplyDeleteAmazing how crystal clear that water looks...something I wouldn't expect, coming from out of a pipe in the curb! And yeah Eric, how DID you get down so low...do you have a "low-pod?" ;-)
ReplyDeleteAnyone who gets up early and out sees these mini-moats..always a surprise though. I wish we had them in NYC..we certainly could use them! Thanks for stopping by.
ReplyDeleteThe water looks cool too, which was just perfect for me today - it's about 35C in Tenerife. I'm going to sit and stare at this photo to cool me down! Thanks Eric. :)
ReplyDeleteI have just discovered your blog, and I am so grateful for it. I am from Scotland and hoping to get a job in Paris and move there soon. It may take over a year to be able to get there as I am a student however, so your daily photos will keep me sane in the meantime.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks =)
Eric,
ReplyDeleteGreat Shot! I remember the green clad men and the brooms.
35C in Tenerife? I'm so jealous! But regardless, I wouldn't want to swim in THIS water!
ReplyDeleteLovely water effect. It might be interesting, as BV wrote, to have a picture of you taking that one !
ReplyDeleteGreat macro, small things are a hidden universe. We must open our eyes so much to get it.
ReplyDeleteGreetings from Perú
Beautifully shot Eric, superb!
ReplyDeleteHi everyone, and happy labour day to all Americans (I forgot, thanks Michael for reminding me).
ReplyDeleteSo, sorry to disappoint you all but I did not even wet one shoe when I took it (nor was I crawling in the water like some of you seem to think!)
I was simply kneeling, holding my camera aside.
Merci en tout cas, I kinda like this pic cause it's something very usual (here) photographed from a pretty unusual angle.
Great photo, thanks for the explanation, I always wandered why..
ReplyDeleteCa c'est super. Au debut je l'ai vraiment pris comme une petite fontaine. Bien joué !
ReplyDeleteNathalie
My wife and I were in Paris in May and saw the water and the sweepers. being a guy I wonder about the water delivery system. Is it separate from the potable water?Is it automatic or manually turned on? Where are the valves? Is it one outlet at a time or several? Inquiring minds want to know
ReplyDeleteEdullabe and Silliyak : As many of you might ask, what a shame spending money to waste water...
ReplyDeleteThe city of Paris has two water circuits: drinkable and non-drinkable water. An idea of ingeneer Belgrand, they were build at the end of the 19th century (source: my old urban management course).
Have a look on this website: http://www.parissweethome.com/parisrentals/art_uk.php?id=57
Merci Eric!
ReplyDelete