Swimming in the Seine in Paris: pools reopen after four days of closure, water quality under surveillance

The day after their inauguration on Saturday, July 5 , they had to close to the public due to rain . The three swimming pools in the Seine in Paris reopened on Thursday, July 10, the capital's city hall announced. Heavy rain on Sunday and Monday forced the city hall to close the pools for four days, starting the day after their inauguration on Saturday, July 5, in a festive atmosphere.

With the return of the sun, the green flags were raised again at the entrance to the sites of Bras Marie ( ^4th arrondissement, Centre), Grenelle ( ^15th , West) and Bercy ( ^12th , East), after receiving the latest results of the water quality tests.

"According to our protocol, if it rains more than 10 millimeters in less than twelve hours, we do not open swimming while waiting for the results of the water quality," explained to Agence France-Presse Pierre Rabadan, deputy for sports to the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, specifying that it had rained 26 millimeters on Sunday and Monday.

All the rainwater, which mixes with Paris's wastewater, was stored thanks to the Austerlitz basin, preventing any discharge into the Seine, he added. However, discharges can occur upstream of the capital in the event of excessive rainfall, leading to bacteriological pollution of the water.

On Saturday, more than 2,300 visitors were counted at the three sites. As on the beaches, flags (green, yellow, and red) raised at the entrance indicate the river's flow and water quality.

Last summer, record rainfall during the Olympic Games often made the water unsuitable for athletes to swim in, particularly due to occasionally high levels of fecal bacteria ( Escherichia coli and enterococci).