Paris’ River Seine Cleaned Up for Olympic Events

The Seine River, the famous river that goes through Paris, has mostly been off-limits to swimmers since 1923.

Although it has been the subject of art, books, and songs, the Seine was too toxic¹ or poisonous for most fish and for people.

Now, however, its green-brown waters are showing a rebirth.

French triathlete Thibaut Rigaudeau is already getting questions about his plans to swim in the Seine. "Are you scared of swimming in the Seine?" He said friends asked him. "It looks disgusting².'"

A costly³ and complex⁴ cleanup is bringing back the Seine just in time for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Dan Angelescu is a scientist who is tracking⁵ the Seine's water quality for the city. He said the cleanup project "will create waves...across the world because a lot of cities are watching Paris."

Angelescu added⁶, "It's the beginning of a movement...We hope so, at least."

The Olympic plans have sped up a cleanup effort that has taken many years. Without having to be ready for thousands of Olympians and Paralympians next year, city officials said it would have taken much longer to pay for the $1.5 billion effort.

The Seine is going to be the center of Paris' Olympic opening ceremony. For the first time, the ceremony will take place not in a stadium⁷ but along the sides of the river.

So, the river needs to be ready. Officials have barred homes upstream of Paris and houseboats on the Seine from emptying their waste directly⁸ into the river. An Olympic law passed in 2018 gave moored¹⁰ boats two years to connect to Paris' sewerage system. Sewage treatment plants on the Seine and the Marne rivers are also being improved. The Marne River flows into the Seine and is its tributary¹¹.

Paris officials say the water quality is already getting better.

There are now more kinds of fish. Years ago, only two or three kinds were able to survive in the dirty water.

Officials say samples taken daily last July and August in the part of the river where Olympians and Paralympians will compete showed the water quality was "good."

Swimming will be starting at the Seine's Alexandre III Bridge. Triathlon competitors¹² will be the first. Men will race on July 30, followed by women the next day. Then come marathon¹³ swimmers, on August 8 and 9, and para-triathletes on September 1 and 2.

Rigaudeau competed in para-triathlon at the 2021 Tokyo games. He is looking forward to the events. He is hoping for an early taste of the experience when Paris holds swims in the Seine this summer to get ready for 2024. It will be Rigaudeau's first-ever swim in his home river.

"We will be the ‘testers,'" he said. "I hope we don't get sick."

The river should then reopen to everyone in the summer of 2025. City officials said five possible bathing¹⁴ spots are being studied within Paris itself, with others farther¹⁵ away.

Officials hope Parisians will start to feel that it is safe to go back in the water when they see Olympians and Paralympians leading the way.

Words in This Story

triathlete – n. a person who takes place in a long-distance race that has three parts (such as swimming, bicycling, and running) called a triathlon

disgusting – adj. so unpleasant¹⁶ to see, smell, taste, consider, that you feel slightly sick

stadium – n. a very large usually roofless building that has a large open area surrounded by many rows of seats and that is used for sports events, concerts

moor⁹ – v. to hold (a boat or ship) in place with ropes

sewerage – n. the system of pipes that carry away human waste, wastewater (sewage) and runoff water to places where they can be treated

sample – n. a small amount of something that gives you information about the thing it was taken from

1 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

2 disgusting   

adj.令人作呕的，可憎恶的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• What a disgusting smell!多么讨厌的气味！
• The mosquito is the disgusting thing.蚊子是讨厌的东西。

3 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

4 complex   

adj.复杂的，合成的，综合的；n.联合体

参考例句：

• What he said was too complex for me to understand.他说的太复杂了，我无法了解。
• Justice is part of the complex machinery of the law.正义是复杂的法律机器的一部分。

5 tracking   

n. 按学生能力分组 动词track的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• He got after his sister for tracking mud into the house. 他责备妹妹脚下踩着泥走进屋里。
• All citizens should help the police in tracking the criminals down. 所有市民都应该帮助警察追捕罪犯。

6 added   

adj.更多的，附加的，额外的

参考例句：

• They have added a new scene at the beginning.在开头他们又增加了一场戏。
• The pop music added to our enjoyment of the film.片中的流行音乐使我们对这部电影更加喜爱。

7 stadium   

n.露天大型运动场

参考例句：

• The new football stadium can hold eighty thousand people.新的足球场可以容纳八万人。
• The stadium is being used for a match.那个露天运动场正在进行一场比赛。

8 directly   

adv.直接地，径直地；马上，立即

参考例句：

• I will telephone you directly I hear the news.我一听到消息，马上打电话给你。
• She answered me very directly and openly.她非常坦率地、开门见山地答复了我。

9 moor   

n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊

参考例句：

• I decided to moor near some tourist boats.我决定在一些观光船附近停泊。
• There were hundreds of the old huts on the moor.沼地上有成百上千的古老的石屋。

10 moored   

adj. 系泊的 动词moor的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London. 该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。
• We shipped (the) oars and moored alongside the bank. 我们收起桨，把船泊在岸边。

11 tributary   

n.支流；纳贡国；adj.附庸的；辅助的；支流的

参考例句：

• There was a tributary road near the end of the village.村的尽头有条岔道。
• As the largest tributary of Jinsha river,Yalong river is abundant in hydropower resources.雅砻江是金沙江的最大支流，水力资源十分丰富。

12 competitors   

竞争者( competitor的名词复数 )； 对手； 参赛者； 竞赛者

参考例句：

• We are now outselling all our competitors. 我们现在比所有竞争对手都卖得多。
• We are lagging far behind our European competitors in using new technology. 我们在使用新技术方面远远落后于我们的欧洲对手。

13 marathon   

n.长距离赛跑；需要耐力的比赛；(M-)马拉松

参考例句：

• I'm hoping to be in the marathon next year.我希望明年能参加马拉松赛。
• The meeting was a bit of a marathon.这次会议有点马拉松赛的味道。

14 bathing   

n.游泳，洗海水澡

参考例句：

• The place is convenient for bathing.这地方适合游泳。
• Naked bathing is not allowed to this beach.这个海滩禁止裸泳。

15 farther   

adj.更远的，进一步的；adv.更远的，此外；far的比较级

参考例句：

• I can throw the ball farther than you can.这个球我能比你扔得远。
• The farther hill is five kilometres away.那座更远的小山在五公里以外。

16 unpleasant   

adj.使人不愉快的，使人厌恶的，煞风景的

参考例句：

• A very unpleasant thing has happened.一件令人很不愉快的事发生了。
• The kind advices are often unpleasant to the ear.好言常常不入耳。