When will Danela swim in Vardar?

After months of anticipation, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo made good on her promise today and entered the polluted Seine River to prove that the river is clean enough to host swimming events during the 2024 Olympics.

Hidalgo, wearing a diving suit and goggles, jumped into the river near City Hall, her office and Notre Dame Cathedral.

“The Senna is great. The water is very, very good. A little bit cold, but fine,” Hidalgo said in the water, according to reports. Associated Press.

The Olympics will open on July 26 with a grand outdoor ceremony that will include a parade of athletes on boats on the Seine. Daily water testing in early June showed elevated levels of E. coli, but has since improved.

The shore was crowded with spectators

Swimming in the Seine has been banned for more than a century. Since 2015, organizers have invested 1.5 billion euros to prepare the Seine for the Olympics and give Parisians a cleaner river after the Games. The plan includes building a huge underground water storage tank in the center of Paris, renovating sewage infrastructure and upgrading sewage treatment plants.

Hidalgo was originally scheduled to swim in the Seine in June but postponed the event due to early French parliamentary elections. Hidalgo used a ladder to enter the river today. Seven security boats were rented for the event.

Hidalgo swam about 100 meters downstream, combining backstroke and breaststroke, as the shore was crowded with curious onlookers.

“I wouldn’t miss this for anything,” said Lucie Coquero, who woke up early to get the best view of Hidalgo from the Pont de Salie.

Politicians have pledged to clean up the Sena, a pledge former French President Jacques Chirac made in 1988 when he was mayor of Paris but never followed through.

Will we see Darnella swimming in Vardar?

Vardar in Skopje must not be used for bathing or watering. Data on river pollution in the Skopje region over the past three years show that almost all samples tested had physicochemical defects, while 100% of tested samples had bacteriological defects. According to the authorities’ measurements, the most serious pollution is in the lower reaches of the river, where all feces in Skopje’s sewers are discharged into the Vardar River without being treated. Radio Free Europe wrote in May 2022.

Skopje is one of the few cities in Europe that still discharges raw sewage directly into the Vardar River even in the 21st century. Construction of a sewage treatment plant in Skopje was announced as a solution to this problem, but it has not yet started.

“The head of the unit for the €200 million Skopje wastewater treatment plant project was fired a month ago without her, the project’s partners, two European banks and the EU knowing about it. Of the €200 million project, €136 million was a loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and €70 million was a non-refundable grant from the EU. SDK.MK will be released in May 2023.

The tender procedure for the construction of the sewage treatment plant was completed and the most advantageous contractor was selected, following which the VMRO-DPMNE party had a dispute with the Mayor of Skopje, Daniela Arsovska, alleging attempts to manipulate the bids in the selection of the contractor. The director of the PE “Vodovod i Kanalizaza”, who had been a member of the VMRO-DPMNE staff, was also removed, after which the party withdrew its support for the mayor of Skopje. The tender for the construction of the Skopje water treatment plant was launched in the summer of 2020, and the start of ground construction works was delayed as the City of Skopje extended the procedure. The initial deadline for the completion of the construction of this capital facility was 2026. In order to be considered for EU membership, South Macedonia will have to build wastewater treatment plants in all major settlements, Meta.mk Written in September 2023.

It remains to be seen whether clean water will flow in Vardar during Daniela Arsovska’s tenure and whether the “Mother of the Capital” will follow the example of her French colleague.