Paris Cleans Seine in Preparation for Sporting Events

French city increases clean water initiatives due to heavy rainfalls and upcoming Olympics

Image: David, Adobe Stock

 After experiencing heavy summer rainfall, water quality in the river Seine, which courses through Paris, France, dropped below acceptable levels established by public health authorities. The contamination led to the cancellation of The Open Water Swimming World Cup 2023. 

With the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics less than a year away, city officials have enhanced measures that will help the river meet standards for public bathing and sporting events. These measures include those that would prevent wastewater from being discharged into the Seine in the event of heavy rain. “With a year to go before the Games, the efforts to make the Seine swimmable, led by the State and the City of Paris, continue to significantly improve the quality of the water in the Seine,“ officials said in a press release. 

The river was clean enough to host the World Triathlon and Para Triathlon Test Event Paris on a 1500m stretch of the Seine a couple of weeks later.