The River Seine is in the final phase of a historic clean-up, allowing divers and swimmers to return after 100 years.
Swimming was banned a century ago due to filthy water, but with only a year to go until the Olympics, a regeneration project of $1.2 billion was set up to clean up the river.
Three Olympic events are set to happen in the Seine – marathon swimming, triathlon, and paratriathlon – and ‘by 2025, three open-air swimming areas will be accessible from the quayside,’ reports the BBC.
Deputy Paris mayor Pierre Rabadan says that ‘when people see athletes swimming in the Seine with no health problems, they’ll be confident themselves to start going back in the Seine. It’s our contribution for the future.’
Due to ‘upstream industrial sewage and the sanitation demands of a burgeoning population,’ Paris saw a decline in its river quality. Authorities banned swimming in 1923, and only three fish species were recorded in the river in the 1960s due to a decline in aquatic life.
The River Seine will be safe to swim in by next year’s Olympic games.
Pictures: Unsplash
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