The Seine River in Paris has been closed to public swimming for more than 100 years, but it reopened to swimmers this summer. We talked to two people who took a dip.
Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall.
This summer, people in Paris got to do something that was illegal for more than 100 years: swim in the Seine.
The river was closed to public swimming in 1923 because of pollution and boat traffic. But now, after a massive clean-up effort, Paris officials say it’s safe to go back in. So, we decided to talk to some people who gave it a try.
Daniel: I’m Daniel
Megan Hall: That’s the nephew of our founder.
Nienke: And,my name is Nienke.
Megan Hall: That’s Daniel’s partner. They were working remotely in Paris this summer.
Daniel: We were just kind of, living our life, but in Paris.
Megan Hall: They just happened to be there when the city reopened the Seine for swimming. So they decided to check it out.
Daniel: We went to the area near the Eiffel Tower that was open for swimming.
Nienke: Eventually we waited maybe a half hour. Do you think that’s fair? Yeah.
Megan Hall: As they waited, they saw a man updating a sign with details about weather, wind speeds, and pollution in the river.
Daniel: He was this very sort of stern old man, not smiling, just writing numbers, and then
Nienke: He wrote, uh, in French, like happy swimming.
Daniel: Happy swimming.
Megan Hall: This happy swimming was made possible thanks to a push to clean up the river in time for the Paris Summer Olympics.
To do that, the city built large storage tanks for raw sewage. Before, when big storms happened, the sewers were overwhelmed and released everything straight into the river. They also worked hard to stop houseboats from dumping their waste into the water.
The end result for swimmers like Nienke and Daniel?
Daniel: Yeah, so the water, um, itself, um, was surprisingly clean.
Nienke: It was. Kind of chilly, but very, refreshing. The water looked almost a little bit blue. You could see some fish.
Nienke: I certainly wondered, I hope this is as clean as they say, because I have no way of knowing if, if there is something strange in here. But I think each of us also accidentally had a little taste of the water, and it seemed absolutely fine.
Daniel: It tasted delicious.
Megan Hall: Daniel says he hopes the Seine clean-up encourages other cities to make their rivers safe enough for swimming.
Daniel: I grew up in New York and I always thought it would be cool to go swimming in the Hudson River and was always told, no, it’s too dirty. And I thought that was very strange, because I have access to parks, to the streets, and it’s just sort of another natural environment that’s accessible as something you can enjoy.
Nienke: I agree. I think it changes your relationship to the city. I think both Dan and I have been in, in cities abroad where if there’s a river we’re, we start asking people, oh, where can I go and swim? And then when the answer is like, you absolutely can’t, that would be dangerous, that’s a very depressing and strange realization, that there’s parts of the city that are so prominent, like the Seine, it’s right there, you see it all the time, I think being able to access it makes you more connected to the city and its resources.
Megan Hall: So far, the swimming program at the Seine has been a success, so much so that the mayor extended the season to the middle of September.
But if you can’t make it to Paris, there are cities in the US that have made these transformations too. Similar efforts to store sewage have made Narragansett Bay here in our home state of Rhode Island much cleaner. In fact, everywhere these kinds of improvements are made, it’s transformed water that was once filthy and dangerous.
That’s it for today. You can find more information, or ask a question about the way your choices affect our planet, at askpossibly.org. You can also subscribe to Possibly wherever you get your podcasts or follow us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Bluesky at “askpossibly”
Possibly is a co-production of Brown University’s Institute for Environment and Society, Brown’s Climate Solutions Initiative, and The Public’s Radio.
The post Is the Seine River really safe for swimming? appeared first on TPR: The Public’s Radio.