By: Jackson Liu

The Seine river is an important part of France. Thermal and nuclear power stations in Paris draw from the river to cool their reactors. It is severely polluted and has been deemed unsafe for centuries because of a continuous flow of untreated sewage water being dumped inside. The French government has spent approximately 1.5 billion dollars cleaning up the Seine River for the Olympics by building huge concrete basins to stop untreated sewage water overflowing into the Seine.

Many events, such as Olympic swimming competitions and the Triathlon will take place inside the Seine River in Paris for the 2024 Summer Olympics. The Olympics is a global event that takes place once in every four years. It involves athletes from all over the world coming to the hosting country to compete for a medal. This year, the Olympics will be hosted by France.

The Triathlon is an endurance – testing sport that involves swimming, cycling, and running over long distances. This year’s swimming section of the triathlon will take place in the seine river, but it was recently tested to be unsafe after it was declared to be safe just weeks ago in July 10th.

Organizers are blaming it on the recent heavy rains, because when there’s heavy rain sewages overflow and get washed into the river. If the river isn’t up to standards by July 30, 2024 when the triathlon starts, the event would have to be moved to the Marne river at the east of Paris. The Seine used to be a clean river where citizens went swimming in it every day until it got too polluted. Hopefully the river will be clean again soon so citizens can once again relax in the river.