Paris: Traces of Coronavirus in “Non-Potable” Water

The mayor of Paris announced on Sunday that she had found ” very small traces ” of coronavirus in the non-potable water network, assuring however that there was ” no risk for potable water “.

The “traces” of Covid-19 were discovered in the non-potable water network of the city of Paris, used in particular to clean the streets, but there is “no risk for drinkable water”, indicated the mayor.

The laboratory of the local water company “Eau de Paris” has discovered “in the last 24 hours” the presence in very small quantities of traces of the virus on 4 of the 27 sampling points tested, which led the city council to immediately suspend the use of its non-potable water network, within the framework of the “precautionary principle”, the city council said.

However, the potable water, which depends on another “totally independent” network, “presents no trace of the Covid virus” and “can be consumed without any risk”, assured the town hall.

The non-potable water network is supplied by so-called “raw” water, taken from the Seine and the Ourcq canal, and delivered without heavy treatment,” explained the town hall. It is used to water certain parks and gardens, clean streets and operate lakes and waterfalls in parks and woods as well as “certain decorative fountains in parks or gardens currently closed to the public”.

“These are tiny traces, but they are traces nonetheless, so we decided to apply the precautionary principle and to refer the matter to the Regional Health Agency,” explained Célia Blauel, the deputy mayor of Paris in charge of the Ecological Transition, quoted by the French media.

The Ile-de-France Regional Health Agency will therefore have to give its opinion on the possible risks caused by these traces.

Following this new situation, the Paris City Council has decided to immediately interrupt the non-potable water system, and to reduce the cleaning of the public highway which could henceforth be done with potable water.

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