Paris, France

The River Seine in Paris will very soon witness swimmers and divers back after almost a century as it is in the final stage of a historic clean-up, as per BBC reports.

Advertisment

Banned for almost 100 years due to filthy water, the government is set to spend around $1.6 billion on the Seine regeneration project that is being hailed universally as a success.

As per BBC reports, three Olympic and Paralympic events, triathlon, marathon swimming and Para-triathlon will take place in the river and by the year 2025, three open-air swimming areas will be accessible from the quayside.

"When people see athletes swimming in the Seine with no health problems, they'll be confident themselves to start going back in the Seine," the BBC quoted Pierre Rabadan, deputy Paris mayor in charge of the Olympics as saying. "It's our contribution for the future."

Advertisment

The water quality of the river drastically declined in all these years due to industrial sewage and the sanitation demands of the growing population in the French capital.

The declining water quality affected the aquatic life to a point where in the 1960s only three species of fish were recorded in Paris. 

Swimming in the Seine was banned in the year 1923.

Advertisment

Also read: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to shuffle his cabinet tomorrow: Reports

Three swimming areas to open on the Seine

Over the last 20 years, the advancements that have been made have resulted in a sharp decline of faecal bacteria entering the river.

"But the difficulty has been in eradicating those last few percentage points to ensure it can be officially classified as clean," the BBC quoted Samuel Colin-Canivez, chief engineer for sanitation at Paris city hall as saying.

The government is now building a huge reservoir underground that will help in storing run-off in times of heavy rainfall.

"Up to now, the Seine has been the safety valve for the sewage system. If we didn't occasionally allow wastewater into the river, it would have backed up into people's homes," Colin-Canivez added.

"Now a tunnel will bring the overflow to the reservoir, where it can be stored for a day or two - the time for the system to settle down again. Then it will be drained as normal to the treatment centres," he further said.

(With inputs from agencies)

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.