It was an “extremely rare” incident that caused the contamination at Insep on February 2. Dozens of athletes and officials of the establishment had suddenly suffered from violent stomach aches, diarrhea and vomiting. Some athletes even had to give up their competition.
Due to the extremely rapid contamination, the trail of food poisoning was quickly ruled out and suspicion fell on the water. What samples and analyzes have confirmed. And it turns out, after investigation, that it is a human error which is at the origin of this giant contamination. Indeed, a worker, during a technical intervention in the Bois de Vincennes (outside therefore of Insep) had reversed the connections!
“This contamination follows the repair of a watering hole, supplied by the non-potable water network managed by the Department of Green Spaces and the Environment, in the Parc Floral, near Insep. A technical intervention led to a poor connection between the non-drinking water network (which is used for watering) and that of drinking water, entrusted to Eau de Paris”, confirms Eau de Paris. In other words, at the beginning of February, Insep found itself, in its taps, with non-potable water coming from a canal and which was initially intended for watering green spaces.
Water bottles distributed constantly
“From the first reports by Insep, the ARS contacted the teams of the Eau de Paris laboratory, which provides Biotox Waters laboratory functions for the entire Paris defense zone. The management teams intervened as soon as possible to understand the origin of this contamination, we continue at the Eau de Paris management. The complex mapping of the Bois de Vincennes networks made investigations particularly difficult.
Indeed, in this sector, three networks coexist: the Parisian drinking water network, managed by Eau de Paris, that of SEDIF, which serves the neighboring municipalities and the non-drinking water network of the Bois de Vincennes managed by the DEVE . Despite this, the source of the contamination could be identified within a few days. The water authority in Paris speaks of an “extremely rare incident. All necessary measures have been taken, or are in the process of being taken, to prevent such an incident from happening again. »
At Insep, the decontamination of the entire network, complex because the site where hundreds of athletes train had to remain operational, is about to end. Since the beginning of February, bottles of water have been permanently distributed, meals for boarders and half-boarders are delivered, as the water cannot be used for cooking. The brewery was closed as a precaution.
The establishment, which is in no way responsible for the incident and which therefore had to adapt so that the preparation for the 2024 Olympics continues, has already spent several tens of thousands of euros. “The question of the management of the impacts of this incident will be discussed with Insep”, assures us Eau de Paris.