Even before having put a toe in the troubled waters – and prohibited for swimming – of the Seine, the French triathlete Thibaut Rigaudeau must already answer the questions of his incredulous friends.
“Are you afraid to swim in the Seine? he is constantly being asked. It looks disgusting. »
For decades it was. Although it has been immortalized many times in painting, literature or song and is cherished by lovers who whisper sweet nothings on its many bridges or leave themselves in tears on its banks, the river was ecologically dying.
Too toxic for most fish and swimmers, the Seine was only used to transport goods or people, or even as a last refuge for many bicycles and other waste. Swimming has been prohibited there since 1923, with a few exceptions.
However, its brownish waters are experiencing a certain renaissance.
A complex and expensive water treatment process is on its way to resurrecting the Seine just in time for the river to play a starring role during the 2024 Summer Olympics and, thereafter, to once again become the the most romantic river there is and once again be accessible to Parisians.
In this world in full warming, the newfound possibility of cooling off in the Seine should allow the French capital to remain livable during the waves of oppressive heat which are more and more numerous to hit it. It could also inspire other cities to invest in reclaiming their waterways.
“It will create waves, no pun intended, around the world as several cities have their eyes on Paris,” said Dan Angelescu, a scientist in charge of monitoring the water quality of the Seine for the town hall. “It’s the start of a movement. At least that’s what we hope. »
Olympic motivation
The holding of the Games has accelerated the process of cleaning that began decades ago. Without the imperative that the river be ready for 10,500 Olympic athletes in July and August 2024, followed by 4,400 Paralympic athletes, Parisian leaders estimate that it would have taken several years to finance the 1.4 billion dollar operation. euros (about 2 billion Canadian dollars). Because in addition to hosting races in open water, the Seine will be the centerpiece of an unprecedented opening ceremony. For the first time, the latter will take place not in a stadium, but on the river and its banks.
The river must therefore be ready. The leaders contacted the owners of houses upstream and barges on the Seine who discharged their wastewater directly into the river. A law passed in 2018 gave anchored barges two years to hook up to the city’s sewer system. Wastewater treatment from the Seine and the Marne, one of its tributaries, has also been improved.
More than half a billion euros are devoted to the construction of huge retention basins which will reduce the discharge of wastewater into the Seine during downpours. One of these basins is currently dug near the Gare d’Austerlitz. What is currently a gaping hole will contain the equivalent of 20 Olympic swimming pools of sewage, which will now be treated rather than spat out into the city’s storm sewer system and, therefore, into the river.
At the town hall, it is assured that the quality of the water has already improved and that there are now more than the two or three species of fish which were sufficiently resistant to inhabit the Seine a few decades ago. Samples collected daily last July and August in the portion of the river that will be used for competitions showed good water quality, acceptable according to sports federation standards.
Starting from the Alexandre-III bridge, the triathletes will be the first to compete in 2024, the men on July 30 and the women the next day. Then will come the open water marathoners, on August 8 and 9, as well as the paratriathletes, the 1er and September 2.
Rigaudeau, who competed in the Tokyo 2020 Paratriathlon, is excited about swimming in the Seine. He hopes to get a taste of it when Paris hosts test events this summer. This will be the first time that Rigaudeau will dive into the Seine. “We will be the testers. I hope we don’t get sick of it,” he said.
After the Games, the river should be reopened to everyone from the summer of 2025. The leaders are studying five potential bathing sites in the middle of the city, as well as a few others located further down the river. They hope that after many years when it was unthinkable to swim in the Seine, Parisians will feel safe there seeing the athletes do it.
“It will change our lives,” Rigaudeau said. But it’s also true to say that since people think it’s so dirty, they won’t go on their own. At least not first. »
With Jeffrey Schaefer