The problem: For 100 years, swimming in the Seine has been banned because of the water quality. The state has decided to remedy this – and put 1.4 billion euros on the table to do so.
Just over a year before the Olympic Games in Paris, the Seine is the center of attention. Two swimming competitions are to be held in the river between the Pont Alexandre III bridge and the Eiffel Tower.
The problem: swimming in the Seine has been banned for 100 years because of the water quality. The state has decided to address this – and has put 1.4 billion euros on the table to do so.
The priority is to regulate rainwater. After every thunderstorm, sewer water overflows and runs into the river.
Several construction sites are underway, like this huge retention basin with 50,000 m3 capacity – in the ground under Paris.
Se baigner dans la Seine à Paris, certains en ont rêvé, beaucoup en ont parlé et dès l’an prochain ce sera une réalité.
Cette ambition collective sera enfin rendue possible grâce aux Jeux de Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/rgioqklK0p
– Anne Hidalgo (@Anne_Hidalgo) April 5, 2023
There is still work to be done in the area of fecal bacteria
Samuel Colin-Canivez is in charge of the construction project: “The aim of the basin is to use a collection mechanism to intercept rainwater before it is discharged into the Seine and to empty it into the treatment plant after the rain through a pumping system. As a result, the Seine is no longer polluted with contaminated water. Since the water is bacteriologically contaminated, it meets the sanitary criteria – not the environmental criteria – for bathability.”
A European directive regulates what maximum level of fecal bacteria is acceptable as an indicator of water quality for safe bathing. In Paris, the level is still far too high.
Hydrologist Jean-Marie Muchel is cautiously optimistic. “The quality is actually pretty good, considering how many people live in the Seine region and how small the amount of water is. Of course, there is still some work to be done in the area of fecal bacteria. There are also some chemicals. For decades, people didn’t care if the quality of the Seine was good. It wasn’t until the 1970s that the first efforts were made. And today we are reaching a state that is almost fit for bathing. “
Will everyone soon be allowed to swim in the Seine?
Currently, the future division of the river between boats and bathers is being considered. At least twenty beaches are planned in the region. The municipality hopes that by 2025 bathing will be allowed for all.
Euronews reporter Cyril Fourneris wonders, “Will Parisians soon be able to jump into the Seine to cool off? Sounds too good to be true. This is not the first time such a promise has been made. It has never been kept. “