The end of 1909 and early 1910 saw a period of heavy rain and snow fall over a period of 3 months. The level of the Seine began to rise rapidly from 18 to 20 January, rising to a maximum of 8.62 meters above normal on the 28th. Some 4 billion cubic meters of river water, contaminated with river sediment and municipal sewage, flooded over 5 square kilometers of Paris.