Paris Tourists To Be Allowed To Go Swimming In The Seine

The Seine River will also serve as the venue for many swimming events at the 2024 Summer Olympics. The goal is to restore the river's health and make it suitable for human swimming.

Although a walk along the Seine's banks is picturesque, the river's water has grown so polluted that even fish have a hard time surviving in it. Paris's river is not just a dumping place for trash and rusty bicycles, but also untreated sewage, so the river is currently mostly used for shipping purposes.

The 1900 Summer Olympics were held on the Seine, but the river has been off-limits to swimmers ever since it was closed to them in 1923 owing to pollution and traffic from vessels. The city's goal now is to make the river accessible for swimmers again, first for the 2024 Olympics and then, by 2025, for the general public. With the latest project, within a few years, tourists will likely swim in the city's renowned waters.

An ambitious €1.4 billion plan to revitalize the Seine

This project has been in the works for decades, but with the Olympics quickly coming, progress has picked up pace. The opening ceremony, as well as he triathlon and open-water competitions of the Olympics and Paralympics will take place along the river, therefore it must be fully prepared for the athletes by July 2024.

The cleaning initiative includes enhancing sewage treatment facilities and stopping consumers dumping wastewater into the river. Massive storage basins are being built to keep bacteria-laden wastewater from overflowing into the river during storms.

Once the Olympic Games are over, the river will finally be accessible to the public. City officials in Paris are looking at five potential swimming places along the Seine. One is expected to be located at the port of Bercy, another on the Allée du Bord-de-l'Eau, two more are likely to be found in the Parc Rives de Seine and one on the Marie arm in Paris Centre.

Due to climate change challenges, Paris is expected to experience scorching summers of above 50 degrees Celsius by 2050; having access to swimming areas is one way to make the city more liveable in the years ahead. However, the project's ultimate goal is to encourage similar efforts to improve the safety of waterways in other communities.

Dan Angelescu, a scientist who regularly samples the Seine for the City Hall, declared that the city's efforts to improve the river's water quality will boost interest in this kind of projects around the globe, since a lot of countries are following Paris.

“It’s the beginning of a movement. We hope so, at least”, Angelescu concluded.

 

source: euronews.com