The Bassin de Naurouze is an octagonal holding tank, created during the building of the Canal du Midi. It was designed and built by Pierre-Paul Riquet. It was abandoned a few years after construction of the canal because of its recurrent silting problems. The flow of water from the Bassin de Saint-Ferréol joins the Canal du Midi at this point near the Seuil de Naurouze. Riquet hoped to build a city around the basin and considered building a port, however it easily filled with silt and soon fell out of use. A lawn replaced the empty pool, and it is now crossed by a straight path lined with trees. [1] [2]