River Seine: Paris river, set for Olympic Games swimming events, still failing water safety standards one month before Games
The River Seine, which will be hosting Paris Olympics swimming events, is still failing to meet water safety standards.
Pollution in the river is still too high despite it being just one month until Paris hosts the Olympic Games. The river is scheduled to host the open-water swimming competition and the swimming leg of the triathlon.
The latest tests, completed last week and released by the Paris mayor’s office, showed levels of the E Coli bacteria – an indicator of faecal matter – are far above the upper limits imposed by sports federations. On 18 June, the level of E Coli was 10 times acceptable levels and at no point did it fall below the upper limit of 1,000 colony-forming units per 100 millilitres used by the World Triathlon Federation. The readings for enterococci bacteria were better, but they were still at unsafe levels for several days last week.
The mayor’s office said in a statement: “Water quality remains degraded because of unfavourable hydrological conditions, little sunshine, below-average seasonal temperatures and upstream pollution”. After months of unusually wet weather, the Seine is currently high up its banks, with its flow around four to five times higher than its usual level in the summer months, according to recent readings. Organisers insist that some dry weather and sunshine in July should be sufficient to make the Seine fit for the outdoor swimming events.
French authorities have spent €1.4bn in the last decade trying to clean up the river by improving the Paris sewerage system, as well as building new water treatment and storage facilities. But, major storms lead to discharges of untreated sewage directly into the river.
Ana Marcela Cunha, the Brazilian gold medal winner of the women’s marathon 10-kilometer swim at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, told Agence France-Presse there is “a concern” about pollution in the Seine. Olympic officials “need a plan B in case it’s not possible to swim in the Seine,” Cunha said, adding the river is “not made for swimming.”
Some Paris residents were also reportedly organizing a “poop protest,” which involves people defecating in the river to protest against the river’s pollution. People angry at the expense of cleaning up the river rallied under the hashtag #JeChieDansLaSeineLe23Juin, which translates as "I shit in the Seine on 23 June".
The Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo promised to swim in the Seine to prove the water was clean enough for Olympic athletes - but she delayed the dip until after the French elections in July. President Emmanuel Macron also promised to swim in the Seine before the Games, but has not said when.