Could we see plan B…C or even D in the coming weeks? According to Pierre Rabadan, Deputy for Sport and Olympic and Paralympic Games at Paris City Hall, this is a big no. “Our only possible plan B is to be able to postpone events by one or more days in case of extreme weather events.”
Because the bacteriological quality of the Seine raises questions, especially this Monday after the publication of a study by the NGO Surfrider. Almost 100 days before the start of the Paris Games, he points to the “alarming” state of the waters of the river flowing through the capital, where the triathlon events (July 30 and 31, August 5), open water swimming, now called marathon swimming (August 8 and 9 August), as well as paratriathlon races (1 and 2 September).
“Very clumsy communication” for Pierre Rabadan, who points to 20 minutes “continuous improvement of the water quality of the Seine for eight years”, “a period of analysis that we are not working on” and massive investments, not all of which have yet been implemented.
From June, eight points of water quality analysis
“We have no concerns because we see that the trajectory of improving water quality in both summer and winter is going in the right direction. And even the results that Surfrider reports are in the right direction. Because the quality is certainly below the threshold for allowing bathing in this period, but it is much better than a year ago in the same period,” assures Pierre Rabadan. 20 minutes.
Paris City Hall also ensures that it is not taking any samples at the moment, as the season is not what the swimming schedule is about. Worth between 1.2 and 1.4 billion euros, including 700 million financed by the state, it is completing its deployment, the prefecture of the Île-de-France region specified this Monday in a press release. It will make it possible to “exceed the original target” and achieve a 75% improvement in the water quality of the Seine. “From June we will have eight water quality analysis points to allow swimming for competitions, and in 2025 for the general public. As we have been doing for several years in the Villette basin,” specifies the Paris City Hall, which adds that “from July, 35 measuring points upstream of Paris will be measured”.
Inappropriate period
Analyzes relied on by Surfrider show concentrations of E. Coli regularly higher than 2,000 cfu/100 ml (maximum 7,250 cfu/100 ml under the Alma Bridge on February 7, 2024) and 500 cfu/100 ml for enterococci (maximum 1,190 7 February ). Although the period analyzed is not part of the period foreseen for swimming in the Seine, the rates are much higher than those imposed by the European “swimming” directive of 2006 and the scale of swimming and triathlon federations. They suggest that concentrations of the two bacteria indicative of faecal contamination, Escherichia coli and enterococci, should not exceed 1,000 colony forming units (cfu)/100 ml for E. coli and 400 cfu/100 ml for enterococci.
According to Paris City Hall and the regional prefecture, there is no need to worry. “The disinfection units of the water treatment plants (enterococci and E. Coli) were in operation in the summer of 2023 for swimming tests. While there was no swimming between September and March, they were not in operation when samples were taken by the Surfrider, which deprives them of range,” the latter clarifies. “We will ceremoniously put the Slavkov basin into operation on May 2, with commissioning within a month,” adds Pierre Rabadan. For Paris, it will be a tool to regulate and delay the discharge of dirty water into the Seine, which is today the main factor in the deterioration of water quality in the river. With its storage capacity of 50,000 m3, this tank is an essential tool. »
“The water quality will be there”
Compliance with the connection of boats to the sewer system is also being finalized, “by the beginning of July, about twenty more boats must comply with the law”, warns the deputy of the Paris City Hall. And “the construction works of the bathing plan, which improve the operation of the sanitary network in rainy weather, will be put into operation in April and May (watersheds of constructions such as the Slavkov storm basin, Ru Saint Baudile, Ru de la Lande, etc.)”, adds the regional prefecture.
Finally, reports Pierre Rabadan, “it is not linked to water quality, but from the beginning of July, a surface waste treatment program with Haropa will be implemented in the summer of 2024. Discussions on this topic are planned for the next Paris Council.
All information about the Paris 2024 Olympic Games
City Hall is on edge over whether the Surfrider NGO will be allowed to take samples “before and during” the Games. “Our aim is to be ready in the summer of 2024 and not to organize races in the Seine in September, October, December or January. Before the opening of three swimming areas to the general public in Paris the following summer. And the quality of the water will be there,” confirms the deputy for sports and JOP 20 minutes, without the slightest doubt.