As Paris prepares to host the Summer Olympics, its mayor sought to quell concerns about the safety of the iconic River Seine by diving into the water and taking a swim.
Swimming in the notoriously polluted Seine has been outlawed for more than a century. However, France spent 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion US) to clean up the water ahead of the Summer Games in which the Seine is expected to play a pivotal role.
To demonstrate that the clean-up efforts had been a success, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo went for a swim in the river on July 17, even dunking her head underwater.
Hidalgo told reporters following her dip that swimming in the River Seine was once a “dream” but was now real.
The 65-year-old mayor previously claimed that the river would be “depolluted” before the Olympic Games where the triathlon events are expected to kick off at the Alexandre III Bridge.
However, testing conducted on the Seine’s water between June 3 and July 2 continued to detect above-acceptable levels of E. coli bacteria on most days.
The mayor told reporters last week that after the Summer Games wrapped up, Paris would have a swimming pool in the Seine for everyone to use.
Even with the clean-up efforts, concerns over the suitability of the Seine for Olympic swimming events remain.
Water testing conducted the week of July 8 showed E. coli bacteria within acceptable levels for the first time. However, according to official data, even one rainfall can significantly increase the river’s E. coli levels.
Following rains on June 29, the E. coli levels at the Alexandre III Bridge spiked on June 30 to roughly 2,000 CFU/100 mL. According to World Triathlon standards, that is double the level required for a “good” water quality test.
The July 26 Opening Ceremony of the Paris Games will take place on the Seine, provided the current is not too strong. Olympic officials believe that the warmer temperatures and sunshine will have improved the water quality significantly by then.