The long -awaited return of public baths on the Sena River in Paris lasted just over 24 hours. After 102 years of prohibition, thousands of people plunged again in the waters of the famous river, just to see the dream suspended the next day due to heavy rainfall and poor water quality.
Parisian authorities raised red flags in three bathing zones, temporarily ending access to the public. The guilt? The old sewage system of the city, built in the nineteenth century, which becomes easily saturated when it rains. As rainwater and sewers share the same channels, the excess ends up being discharged into the river, endangering public health.
Paris City Council ensures that water is analyzed daily and that the bath zones will have a flag system similar to the beaches: green for safe water, red for improper. However, with the arrival of summer and the frequent climacteric oscillations, the interruptions should be repeated with some regularity.
This partial reopening of Seine arises following an investment of 1.4 billion euros made in recent years to dispel the river, in preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Among the measures, new sanitation connections, disinfection technologies, and the construction of a huge reservoir to contain contaminated flow during rains.
Despite the setbacks, the city plans to keep the baths open, when possible, until the end of August, in what would be a milestone for Paris and a symbol of the city’s reconciliation with its river.
No pollution! After 102 years, Rio Sena was released for bathing in Paris.
— Update (@updatecharts)
For the first time in over a century, Parisians and tourists can officially swim in Rio, following a cleaning project of 1.4 billion euros that turned the iconic Rio into a safe space for swimmers.
– Euronews Portuguese (@euronewspt)
