For the third consecutive day, the committee of the Olympic Games has banned access to the Seine for sporting events and has chosen to cancel the men’s triathlon event scheduled for today, given that the water is still not considered safe for swimming.
Although the Seine was the setting for a spectacular Olympic Games opening ceremony last Friday, where the French capital wanted to showcase a clean and ecological river, heavy rains during the ceremony have caused water quality levels to not yet be suitable for competitions.
After an investment of 1.4 billion euros since 2016 in an ambitious plan to boost water quality, one of the great attractions of the Paris Games is still waiting to take off.
Why can’t the competitions take place?
Early this morning, the Eau de Paris monitoring team reported that the water does not meet the necessary health standards. “Despite the fact that water quality has improved in recent hours, the values measured in certain sections of the swimming course still exceed the permitted limits,” the authorities stated.
Although exact figures have not been released, fecal contamination of the water is determined by analyzing E. coli and enterococci bacteria. All indications are that these levels have been high and, therefore, the river is not suitable for recreational activities.
Specialists explain that when it rains heavily, rainwater mixes with sewage and, as the volume increases, it overflows through the spillways that flow into the river. Thus, a portion of the wastewater, instead of going to the treatment plants, ends up contaminating the river.
It seems that the works carried out to redirect the discharges that were still being poured directly into the Seine (including those from boats, but also from homes and businesses upstream of Paris) have not been sufficient in the face of recent heavy rains.
Since when has swimming been banned in the Seine?
On July 17, the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, submerged herself in front of the cameras and dozens of journalists alongside the head of the Organizing Committee of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Tony Estanguet, and the prefect of the Île-de-France region, demonstrating that it was possible to swim in the river.
That happened on Wednesday, and on Friday it was confirmed that health standards were not being met, according to the criteria established by health authorities the previous year.
The ban on swimming in the Seine dates back more than a century, to 1923, after it was recognized that its waters could be dangerous and transmit diseases. In recent years, water quality has improved progressively and has accelerated with the Games, with authorities noting that there are now more than 30 species of fish in the Seine, compared to three in 1970.
What has been the cleanup plan for the Seine?
The purification of the Seine is a state-funded project costing 1.4 billion euros, which has included 40 months of work in wastewater management, treatment plants, and storm basins to reduce bacterial contamination, as well as the modernization of the sewage system.
We must not forget that, thanks to an aid program, around 250 houseboats in Paris have been connected to the city’s sewage system.
Last May, the main component of the comprehensive plan was inaugurated: a huge concrete cylinder 50 meters in diameter by 30 meters deep, with the capacity to store up to 50,000 cubic meters of water, valued at 100 million euros, which apparently has not withstood the impact of recent rains.
What is the ultimate purpose of cleaning the Seine?
Beyond the essential environmental work to eliminate pollution, the goal of the authorities is to enable local beaches and public bathing areas in 2025 in the sections of Bras Marie, Bras de Grenelle, and Bercy.
With the increase in summer temperatures due to climate change, the idea is to be able to take a dip in the Seine, something unthinkable for a century. This initiative, in addition to being a legacy of the Olympic Games, will surely be greatly appreciated by Parisians and the thousands of tourists who visit the city during the summer.
image credits for this post: Elnacional.com.do
