“We are also concerned about the quality of the Seine,” acknowledged Tony Estanguet at the giant job forum organized on Tuesday at the Cité du cinéma, drawing a parallel with the lack of private security agents. Coincidentally, the Île-de-France prefecture and the city of Paris issued a statement on the “lessons learned from the swimming tests in the Seine in August” that same evening. After the cancellation of open water swimming events and the triathlon swimming event last August, all stakeholders gathered once again on Tuesday to prevent a recurrence.
Firstly, they are focusing on the equipment designed to regulate rainwater, particularly the Austerlitz storm basin, which will be operational next spring to deal with the “unusual weather conditions for the season (record rainfall over the two-week period since 1965)” experienced last summer. An investigation by the city of Paris revealed that a valve leak from the Tolbiac-Massena pumping station, upstream of the Tolbiac bridge, “led to the discharge of a mixture of rainwater and wastewater into the Seine,” the statement said. This valve has since been repaired.
“The course of the events highlighted the need to strengthen surveillance, control, and alert systems to limit any unexpected discharge into the Seine during dry weather,” the statement continued. The stakeholders are thus announcing the implementation of an action plan to “strengthen surveillance of sewers in Paris and upstream of the Parisian territory to reduce risks of punctual pollution (such as overflow outlets)” but also to monitor “all other potential sources of pollution” such as boat connections along the Seine.
Finally, they have decided to establish “a system for identifying any pollution discharge into the Seine and intervening for treatment” with dedicated teams. Beyond the successful triathlon and open water swimming events during the Olympics, the objective of this action plan is to continue the swimming plan and “fulfill the promise” made to the general public of swimming in the Seine and Marne rivers by 2025.
