The primary aim is for the Seine to have bathers by 2025, with the Paris Games boosting that goal, although some games were canceled last summer as health standards were not met following rare heavy rains and drainage problems.
The city has built a storage tank capable of holding 46,000 cubic meters of sewage to significantly reduce pollution risks in the Seine. It will be operational before the end of the month.
“It’s a childhood dream come true. Remember when you were 10 years old, you were sitting by a lake and you wanted to take a dip,” Hidalgo said.
“In Paris, our dream was to bathe in the river as Parisians did 100 years ago. The Olympics gave this project a huge boost.”
The water will be tested daily during the Olympics to ensure it is safe for the triathlon and open swimming in the Seine. The Olympics begin on July 26.
Once the rain is collected in the basin it will be transported through a tunnel under the railway station to a treatment plant. When the water meets the required sanitary criteria it will be poured into the Seine.
Former Paris mayor Jacques Chirac in 1988 promised to swim the Seine “in the presence of witnesses”.
Current mayor Anne Hidalgo is set to make that dream a reality, though any mishap during the Olympics will be seen as a setback.
“It’s a fantastic legacy for Parisians,” said Tony Estanguet, head of the Paris 2024 organizing committee.
“We will be the first to benefit from the basin (with the Olympics), but we did it to dramatically improve the environment and water quality.”
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