Triathlon and open water swimming will be held on the Seine during the Paris Olympics. Photo: BERTRAN GUY/AFP
Water tests in the Seine in Paris have found the river is still too dirty for swimming, two months before the start of the Olympic Games when athletes will use it, according to charity figures published on Wednesday.
French authorities are rushing to clean up the Seine, where a triathlon will take place at the end of July, as well as an open water swim in August.
French authorities are rushing to clean up the Seine, where a triathlon will take place at the end of July, as well as an open water swim water in August.
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The water charity Surfrider regularly carries out tests to measure levels of two important bacteria that indicate the presence of faeces.
The latest results showed that levels of E. coli and enterococci exceeded the permissible limits set by sports federations and European bathing standards.
One E. coli count at Pont Alexandre III was more than three times higher than the maximum level allowed by triathlon federations and open water swimming.
Heavy rains in May likely contributed to what Surfrider called “poor” water quality.
He noted that there was heavy rain 36 hours before testing rain, and only light rain in the previous 12 hours.
Heavy rainfall is known to overload Paris's more than a century-old sewer system, causing untreated sewage to flow into the river.
Organizers are praying for good weather during the Olympics, which will take place from July 26 to August 11. that in case of a storm it will be necessary to postpone or even cancel swimming in the Seine.
While a new water treatment plant in Champigny-sur-Marne, upstream from Paris, opened in late April, another major Olympic-related water infrastructure project has yet to come online.
A giant new underground space A stormwater drainage system near the Austerlitz train station in eastern Paris is scheduled to open in early June, storing water to prevent it from flowing into the river.
Cleaning up the Seine was “probably the most difficult [Olympic] project to organize,” Emmanuel Grégoire, deputy mayor of Paris, told reporters in April.
Around €1.4 billion (£1.19 billion) was spent on cleaning the Seine. French authorities have spent money upgrading sewage and stormwater treatment facilities around Paris to reduce the amount of untreated feces ending up in the river and its main tributary, the Marne.
The cleanup has been hailed as one of the key achievements of Paris 2024, with the city's mayor, Anne Hidalgo, aiming to create three public swimming areas on the river next year.
She and Emmanuel Macron, the city's mayor. The French president also promised a dip before the Games. to demonstrate it was safe: Ms Hidalgo, sources said, penciled her swim on June 23.
Olympic open water swimming has suffered from pollution problems in the past, most notably in Rio 2016 and Tokyo in 2021.
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