In view of the Paris Olympics in 2024, the water quality in the Seine will be monitored to avoid a “hiccup” during the triathlon, para triathlon and open water swimming events next summer. As the Olympic Games approach, swimming in the river which crosses the French capital always raises questions.
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The pollution of the Seine had prevented the swimming events from taking place “test event” triathlon in August organized by Paris 2024. The cause: the malfunction of a valve in the Parisian sanitation network.
“ It will continue to improve »
A high concentration of Escherichia Coli bacteria had been noted. “ Laboratory sampling had a slightly higher rate » at the level permitted by the regulations of World Triathlonindicated the deputy for sports at Paris town hall, Pierre Rabadan during a press point.
“ It will continue to improve, promised Tony Estanguet, president of the organizing committee for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. When we organize events there are always hazards, a lot can happen but we have seen the teams’ ability to react. »
The open water swimming events also had to be canceled due to pollution caused by an unusual summer episode of rain.
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From now on, the river will be monitored even more closely, in particular its sanitation networks but also the connections of boats and barges, said the Paris town hall and the Île-de-France prefecture in a press release.
“ The progress of the tests underlined the need to strengthen monitoring, control and alert systems to limit any risk of unexpected discharge into the Seine in dry weather. », Write the authorities after a meeting on the test events of last summer.
Response teams
Ten months before the Olympics and to prevent this type of incident, teams dedicated to monitoring the Seine will be likely to intervene in the event of a pollution release.
Swimming in the Seine should therefore be taken with a grain of salt. While swimming has been prohibited since 1923, the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, has nevertheless promised that the public will be able to swim in the river at three sites, from 2025.
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