How do we know if the water is clean enough to swim in the Seine river in Paris? Videographic explaining how the wastewater system in Paris affects water quality in the Seine river. VIDEOGRAPHIC
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00:00 How do we know if the water is clean enough to swim in the Seine River in Paris?
00:11 To answer this question, we need to understand what type of wastewater system Paris uses.
00:17 It receives not only wastewater from houses and offices, but also takes a large part of
00:22 the stormwater generated in the city after rainfall.
00:27 The collectors send this mixed water to wastewater treatment plants.
00:32 However, sometimes the rainfall is so intense that the network doesn't have the capacity
00:38 to treat the water fast enough.
00:40 To avoid untreated wastewater overflowing into the streets, there are stormwater spillways,
00:46 which act as safety valves.
00:47 If the capacity of the network is exceeded, the spillways direct the untreated water into
00:52 the Seine, and with it different types of bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Enterococci
00:58 contained in the wastewater.
01:01 In too large a quantity, these bacteria make the water unfit for swimming.
01:06 Wastewater reservoirs, like the one at Austerlitz in Paris, have been constructed to increase
01:11 the network's wastewater storage capacity and limit overflows into the Seine.
01:15 [BELL RINGS]
01:17 [NO AUDIO]