The Paris 2024 Olympics planned for triathletes to compete in the River Seine, bringing swimming back to the heart of Paris. However, concerns about the water quality have caused the first event to be postponed by a day.
Standing on the Pont des Invalides, which is near the planned starting line, both locals and tourists shared their thoughts on swimming in the Seine.
Reda, a Parisian, admired the river’s beauty but said he would never swim in it, even if it were cleaned for years. The Seine has already been a significant part of the Games, hosting a boat parade for thousands of athletes during the opening ceremony.
Swimming in the Seine, banned for a century due to poor water quality, is supposed to be a major legacy of the Games thanks to a big cleanup project. Despite recent assurances from organizers, heavy rain over the weekend has worsened the water quality. Paris’s drainage system, which handles both sewage and rainwater, overflowed into the river, causing contamination.
Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo recently swam in the Seine to showcase the cleanup efforts. Tests have shown high levels of E.coli, a bacteria that can cause vomiting and diarrhea. BBC reporter Hugh Schofield, who also took a dip with Hidalgo, said the water tasted fine despite accidentally swallowing some.
Tourists from the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic mentioned they swim in their own countries’ rivers and lakes and would consider the Seine if it were safe. Dutch visitor Esmee thought the river didn’t look too bad from where she stood.
The European Environment Agency (EEA) reported that France’s bathing waters lag behind the EU average, with 75% rated excellent compared to 85% across the EU. Coastal waters were generally better than rivers and lakes. The EEA highlighted Paris’s €1.4bn ($1.5bn) cleanup effort, which includes a massive rainwater storage basin to prevent sewage overflow during heavy rains.
Despite cleanliness concerns, some visitors were still willing to swim in the Seine if the weather was warm. A Brazilian visitor noted that the river in his city, São Paulo, wasn’t clean either, but people still swam there. Parisians like university professor Danielle expressed excitement about a clean, swimmable Seine as part of the Olympic legacy.
Testing of the water is ongoing, and Paris 2024 operations director Lambis Konstantinidis said there are backup plans, including contingency days. He added that turning the triathlon into a duathlon by scrapping the swimming would only happen in extreme cases.
For more details, refer to the original report from BBC News.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn05d4k0l2qo