By V. E. K. Madhushani, Jadetimes News
Health and Safety Concerns Surrounding Paris's Iconic River
The River Seine was set to be a stunning backdrop for the Paris 2024 triathlon, showcasing athletes swimming through the heart of the city. However, concerns about water quality have led to the postponement of the first event by a day.
Standing on the Pont des Invalides, slightly downstream from the planned starting line, locals and tourists shared their thoughts on taking a dip themselves. “It's a beautiful river,” said Reda, a Parisian, on a hot July day. “But I will never dive in, even if they clean it for years."
The Seine has already played a significant role in the Games, hosting thousands of athletes during the boat parade at the rain soaked opening ceremony. Swimming in the city, banned for a century due to water quality issues, was intended to be a major legacy of the Games, thanks to a significant regeneration project.
As recently as Monday, organizers were confident the triathlon events would proceed as planned. However, heavy rain over the weekend changed that. Paris's "single system" drainage became saturated, leading to excess water from kitchens, toilets, and street run-off draining into the river.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo recently swam in the Seine to highlight cleanup efforts. However, previous tests showed persistent levels of E. coli bacteria exceeding the limits set by sports federations. This bacteria can cause illnesses such as vomiting and diarrhea.
Hugh Schofield was among those who joined Ms. Hidalgo, accidentally swallowing some water but noting it tasted fine. Many tourists on the Invalides bridge spoke of the ease of open water swimming in their home countries. Visitors from the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic said they swam in their local rivers, lakes, and canals and would do the same in the Seine if it was deemed safe. “I would go for it,” said Dutchwoman Esmee. “It doesn’t look that bad from here.”
France lags behind the European Union's average for top quality bathing water conditions. About 75% of French bathing waters were rated “excellent” in 2023, compared to 85% across the EU, according to the European Environment Agency (EEA). Coastal waters generally had better quality than rivers and lakes.
Cyprus topped the EEA's list with 97.6% of its bathing waters rated excellent, followed by Austria at 96.9% and Croatia at 96.7%. The EEA's data does not include the UK, where currently only one stretch of the Thames, near Wallingford, Oxfordshire, is designated for bathing.
The EEA highlighted Paris’s €1.4bn clean up operation, which began ten years ago. A vast rainwater storage basin, capable of holding the equivalent of 20 Olympic swimming pools’ worth of water, was created to prevent sewage from flowing into the Seine during heavy rainfall.
Not every visitor to the bridge on the eve of the men’s triathlon was concerned about cleanliness. Some expressed willingness to jump into the river if the weather was warm enough. One man from Brazil noted that in São Paulo, the water isn't clean either.
Several Parisians agreed that a clean and swimmable river would be an exciting Olympic legacy. Danielle, a university professor, said she would “absolutely” swim in the Seine and had wanted to for a long time. Damien, another local, acknowledged that maintaining cleanliness was a big project but worth pursuing for all Parisians.
Daily testing of the water continues. Lambis Konstantinidis, operations director for Paris 2024, said there are back-up plans in place, including the use of contingency days. Downgrading the triathlons to duathlons, eliminating the swimming portion, would only be considered in a "really, really extreme case."
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