Dirty Water: The Frantic Rush to Clean the Seine Before the 2024 Olympics

Officials of the French government are trying to clean the Seine, which has been deemed unswimmable for a century, in time for the 2024 Summer Olympics swim competition.

Pont Alexandre III on the River Seine, Billy Wilson, CC BY-NC 2.0

With the 2024 Olympics set for Paris, the French government has faced backlash for its efforts to quickly clean the Seine, the main river that runs through Paris. The Seine is approximately 13 kilometers long and, in Paris, accompanied by 37 bridges. The staple has promoted water travel and inspired classic French songs such as, “Sous le Pont Mirabeau” and “Sous les Ponts de Paris.” The Seine also has a long history of supplying water to Parisians. In Medieval Paris, citizens and street vendors would collect water from the Seine before they had access to running water. In 1802, Napoleon constructed the Canal St Martin connecting the Seine to the Bassin de La Villette with the goal of supplying water via public fountains throughout the city. The River Seine was in wide use, with people engaging in walks along its banks and recreational swimming, until a decree was passed in 1923 that banned such activities due to pollution and waste runoff. News Writer Olivia Craighead explains that, “The city is old as hell, and as such, sometimes sewage ends up in the Seine.” While people are still allowed to visit its banks, the River Seine has been closed to swimmers since the decree. Until the announcement of the 2024 Olympics.

Since the 2008 Olympics, there have been two open water swimming events: the triathlon and the 10k marathon swim. Pierre Rabadan, the deputy mayor in charge of sports, Olympics, and Paralympics, has said that, “Our objective is an Olympic legacy.” In 2015, Paris introduced the "Plan Baignade" (“Swimming Plan” in English), a plan to make the river swimmable for the Olympics and regular citizens by 2024. As a result, the government has invested upwards of $1.5 billion to make their plan a reality. Despite their efforts, test results from the week of June 10 reveal that E. coli levels in the river are over twice the maximum allowed in water for Olympic events. Marc Guillame, a top government official for Paris, says that these recent readings “are not in line with the standards we will have in the summer.” With the Seine, most bacteria is killed with sunlight and warm temperatures, both of which Paris has seen very little of at this point in the summer. Instead, it has endured heavy rain and cloudy conditions. Phillippe Leclercq, an 18 year old living on a houseboat on the River Seine, notes that, “When it’s good, it’s a nice green color, lately it’s just been brown.”

To ease concerns citizens and athletes have about the River Seines’ cleanliness, President Emmanuel Macron and Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo have pledged to be the first swimmers. Originally scheduled to take a dip on June 23, the two have moved their swim back to July 14. Hidalgo stresses that this was not due to the condition of the water, but the current weather and political atmosphere: “Yes, I will swim in the River Seine, not now because the weather is not so well in Paris, but also because we have an election. It is not possible to organize the jump to the river during the election.”

Aanya Panyadahundi

Aanya is a student at the University of Michigan studying sociology and journalism on a pre-law path. She loves to travel the world whenever she can, always eager to learn more about the different cultures and societies around her. In her free time, she likes to play the violin, ski, and listen to podcasts

The Cape Town Water Crisis: Delaying Day Zero

In the Broadway musical Urinetown, people line up to use the toilet because a 20 year old drought has made private toilets a thing of the past. And when the protagonist rises up finally and allows unrestricted toilet use, the water supply completely evaporates. The final scenes ominously hint at more worrisome issues for the citizens, who, once concerned only with toilet use, most grapple with dying of thirst among other problems.

Although Urinetown is a satire, residents of Cape Town might see it as a scary prediction of their future if Day Zero arrives. As apocalyptical as it sounds, it does accurately embody the looming doomsday scenario: Day Zero is when the taps run dry. How? An unexpected three year drought, starting in 2014, drastically depleted the six dams that serve Cape Town. Whereas 20 years ago water management in Cape Town could rely on seasonal rainfall patterns and small conservation measures, it is now relying on unreliable rain and big changes.

Since Day Zero has been first predicted in early 2018, it has been continuously delayed. Projections now suggest Day Zero will occur in 2019. And in recent weeks, many are rejoicing in water returning to the dry dams. In the words of Anton Bedell, minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs, and Development Planning:  “It’s…good to see Clanwilliam dam at 20.4%. A few weeks ago the dam was below 6%.” The other dams have reflected similar increases, but the relief is only temporary as the dams await more rain—if it will come.

Theewaterskloof dam in February 2018 (source: 2oceanvibes)

Waters return in early June (source: Storm Report)

The biggest assistance in delaying Day Zero is restrictions implemented on February 1st. The main restriction was the allowance of 50 liters, a little more than 13 gallons, of water per person. Comparatively, the average individual in the United States uses 80-100 gallons of water a day and the average family over 300 gallons a day.  The question of how Americans end up using so much illustrates just how little 13 gallons is for a Capetonian. For example, imagine the average bathroom break. A toilet flush requires at least 1.6 gallons with water efficient models, but if it is an older model it will need up to 4 gallons. Then you will wash your hands with about 3 gallons of water. Considering most people take at least four bathrooms breaks a day, that’s already 18.4 gallons used in one day (on a water efficient toilet): more than what one Capetonian is allowed in a single day.

So it is no wonder people are following the “if it’s yellow, let it mellow” rule and putting reminders in bathroom stalls around Cape Town. Even restaurant and bar washroom taps are shut off. But it is not just in the bathroom that changes are being made. Any use of municipal drinking water for irrigation, watering, hosing down paved surfaces, washing vehicles, or filling a private pool is not allowed. Agricultural users have to decrease water usage by 60% and commercial places by 45% compared to their pre-drought usage in 2015. And for residential units that use too much, you’ll face a fine or have to install water management devices.

And globally, Cape Town is a sign of the future. As population increases, especially in urban centers, water resources are straining to accommodate.  This is against a backdrop of climate changes that favor extreme weather events like frequent droughts. What might have worked in the past, is not necessarily the solution for the future.  California, Beijing, Sao Paulo, Jakarta, Mexico City are just some cities that may be the next unwilling host of Day Zero. And water shortages lead to other problems such as famine and violence. The International Panel on Climate Change predicts the Middle East and North Africa will face the most severe water shortage problems. And already, many Somalis have become climate change refugees—leaving their rural farms for the capital, Mogadishu, in hope of different sources of income with farming no longer possible. Millions more are projected in the years to come as climate change makes itself even more apparent.

It is a bleak picture, but subtle changes are happening as global leaders are becoming more aware of the looming water crisis. But we can also start at home with our own water usage. Maybe you don’t need to take a long bath after a hard day and use 36 gallons of water simply to unwind. Instead, take a quick shower and find something else to help you relax. The small changes might sound silly but it is the little things that matter as Capetonians will tell you.

 

TERESA NOWALK is a student at the University of Virginia studying anthropology and history. In her free time she loves traveling, volunteering in the Charlottesville community, and listening to other people’s stories. She does not know where her studies will take her, but is certain writing will be a part of whatever the future has in store.