The Seine has become a matter of state: President Macron promises that water will be clean for the Olympic Games, so triathlon with swimming

French President Emmanuel Macron has assured that the water of the Seine will be clean for the Olympic Games this summer. This is crucial for the continuation of certain sporting disciplines. Macron, who has previously promised to swim in the Seine, said this on Tuesday at the opening of a rainwater station in Champigny-sur-Marne.

The rainwater station inaugurated in Champigny-sur-Marne is located upstream of the place where the Marne flows into the Seine. The disciplines of open water swimming and the swimming part of the triathlon will take place there this summer.

The cleanliness of the Seine was already causing stress for the organizers of the Olympic Games. The cleanliness of the water depends greatly on the weather conditions. During cloudy weather in the days before the disciplines that take place in the Seine, a mixture of rainwater and waste water ends up in the Seine. In this case, those disciplines must be postponed or canceled. This was the case during the test disciplines last year in August.

The rainwater station cost 53 million euros and its construction began at the end of autumn 2020. Together with the Austerlitz basin, which is being built in Paris and will be inaugurated in May, the rainwater in Champigny-sur-Marne is part of a number of important measures being taken to clean the water of the Marne and the Seine. This would make it possible to swim in these rivers, which has not been possible in the Marne since 1970 and in the Seine since 1923.

The purpose of the rainwater station in Champigny-sur-Marne is to pump 700 liters of water per second back into the Marne. According to Olivier Capitanio, president of the Val-de-Marne department council, this is “the equivalent of an Olympic swimming pool per hour.” He also attended the inauguration on Tuesday.

The rainwater station is smaller than Austerlitz (8,000 m3 compared to 50,000 m3), but it has a double function: two lobe pumps underground collect the rainwater. One to store it, the other to clean the water in three steps. First, bar screens retain the waste, then the water is separated from the sand and sludge using decanting knives. The last step is also the most innovative: the presence of dozens of ultraviolet lamps should ensure healthy water, 99.9% without bacteria, according to the operators.

Macron has promised several times to swim in the Seine. However, he has not yet set a date and has not said whether he would do so publicly.