The Paris Olympics will kick off in a week, and the River Seine will host the opening ceremony, triathlon and marathon swimming. But due to its dirty water, swimming there was banned a century ago. Now, the mayor has taken the plunge to show it’s safe for the athletes.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a dip in the river on Wednesday. She swam about 50 meters to showcase its improved water quality.
“The water is very pleasant. It doesn’t have any taste of mud at all. It’s quite clear even though we’ve had some bad weather. It’s fresh, but not cold at all. It was so magnificent that I didn’t want to get out,” the mayor said.
In April, an international NGO that’s been testing the water said high levels of e-coli bacteria would pose a risk to swimmers’ health.
Sewage was to blame for the worsened water quality. Underneath the French capital lies a sewer system stretching over 2,500 kilometers.
As well as disposing of wastewater from households, it also carries rainwater. When the amount of water flowing into the system exceeds a certain level, it’s drained into the Seine.
To clean up the river, this underground water storage facility was completed in May. It holds up to 50,000 cubic meters of water that will be pumped to a treatment plant and prevent sewage from getting into the Seine.
The measure saw e-coli bacteria levels drop last month to meet the domestic standard for bathing.
Lionel Cheylus of the Surfrider Foundation says: “The water quality is improving day by day, and the Seine is gradually becoming swimmable. But rain may fall in the upper reaches, and the sun may weaken, so there are always risks of the water quality worsening.”
The Games’ organizing committee says if bad weather reduces water quality, the triathlon swimming component may be canceled and the marathon swimming could be shifted to a different venue.