I am a Parisian (for 50 years) and I would like to qualify your enthusiasm about the Seine being swimmable. It is a fantasy that was first mentioned 40 years ago by Jacques Chirac, then mayor of Paris.
Since then, it has become a challenge for the mayors of Paris to swim in the Seine and the occasion of the Olympic Games justified colossal works to depollute the Seine. But this work has not resolved the 4 major obstacles to the project sold by the Paris City Hall:
1. Bacteria. This work filters floating waste, but it has not corrected the bacterial pollution of the water. It is due to the Parisian toilet evacuation system: all to the sewer. As a general rule, wastewater is evacuated from the sewers to the treatment plants, but in the event of heavy rain, it overflows and flows into the Seine (to avoid saturating the system).
As soon as this happens, the Seine is no longer "swimmable". And given the frequency of rain in Paris, this is a very common phenomenon.
2. River traffic The Seine is first and foremost a river of traffic that several thousand boats use every day: you cannot swim there freely at the risk of being chopped up by the propeller of a barge or a speed boat.
3. The current: where there is a river, there is a current. There is always a strong current in the Seine, even more so during periods of high water (when it rains a lot) and the main risk for swimmers is therefore drowning.
4. The temperature: Given the Parisian climate, we still have a freezing winter and cool mid-seasons. Consequently, swimming in the Seine only makes sense for 2 to 3 months per year.
Your content is always awesome and it's great to see your audience grow!
Thanks so much Noel, that's really kind of you to say :) Do you have any favourite posts by us?
I think do discovering new solar pull media (stories + tv shows) was my fave
Muito feliz pelos mil inscritos, que solarpunk chegue a cada vez mais lugares, para inspirar!!
Obrigado! Nós concordamos :)
Solarpunk is definitely an interesting concept and “blueprint” for the future!
Blueprint or maybe a set of inspirations to help us take action :)
I am a Parisian (for 50 years) and I would like to qualify your enthusiasm about the Seine being swimmable. It is a fantasy that was first mentioned 40 years ago by Jacques Chirac, then mayor of Paris.
Since then, it has become a challenge for the mayors of Paris to swim in the Seine and the occasion of the Olympic Games justified colossal works to depollute the Seine. But this work has not resolved the 4 major obstacles to the project sold by the Paris City Hall:
1. Bacteria. This work filters floating waste, but it has not corrected the bacterial pollution of the water. It is due to the Parisian toilet evacuation system: all to the sewer. As a general rule, wastewater is evacuated from the sewers to the treatment plants, but in the event of heavy rain, it overflows and flows into the Seine (to avoid saturating the system).
As soon as this happens, the Seine is no longer "swimmable". And given the frequency of rain in Paris, this is a very common phenomenon.
2. River traffic The Seine is first and foremost a river of traffic that several thousand boats use every day: you cannot swim there freely at the risk of being chopped up by the propeller of a barge or a speed boat.
3. The current: where there is a river, there is a current. There is always a strong current in the Seine, even more so during periods of high water (when it rains a lot) and the main risk for swimmers is therefore drowning.
4. The temperature: Given the Parisian climate, we still have a freezing winter and cool mid-seasons. Consequently, swimming in the Seine only makes sense for 2 to 3 months per year.