A year ago, we detailed the saga of the Paris Olympic Triathlon Swimmers, who were directed to complete the swim portion of their triathlons in the murky, formerly-horribly-polluted-but-now-not-so-bad Seine river. It’s fair to say that organizers wanted to use the Olympic swimming event as dramatic proof of the success of the city’s billion-dollar cleanup efforts. Unfortunately, a number of swimmers were struck with severe diarrhea among other symptoms immediately following the race. This was likely from ingesting the river water which, despite the best efforts of city engineers, still contains runoff from the streets of Paris where many a French poodle pees and poops.
Now the general public gets its chance. On July 5, the Seine was opened to the general public for swimming for the first time since 1923. It was an inauspicious start. The next day, officials raised a red flag over the area, and closed it again due to high concentrations of bacteria. These incidents of high bacteria follow rainstorms like rainbows, as organic and inorganic wastes are flushed into the river and overwhelm the new water-cleaning system, which features a giant underground storage basin to collect runoff, treat it, then release the cleaned water into the Seine. It’s something like our Reverse Osmosis filtration systems, only without the RO.
All in all, during the first month, it’s been hit or miss, open or closed. There are three sites: by the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and another just upstream, near the Bois de Vincennes. The Eiffel Tower site suffered a setback when a lifeguard pulled an animal lung out of the water and shut down the operation, leading to some doubt about the entire project of swimming in a river that is just mostly clean.
Still, despite the problems, public demand has been clear, evinced by lines of swimmers queuing up whenever the sites are open. Despite the somewhat sarcastic tone of these stories in AQUA, if I had the chance, I would take to the slightly tainted waters of the Seine like a duck on Sunday morning. A chance to swim in the shadow of Notre Dame, heck yes. Just keep your mouth closed.
This article first appeared in the September 2025 issue of AQUA Magazine — the top resource for retailers, builders and service pros in the pool and spa industry. Subscriptions to the print magazine are free to all industry professionals. Click here to subscribe.
