Recent water quality tests have shown that the Seine is now unsafe for swimming, only one month before the Paris Olympics. The river does not satisfy the necessary conditions to conduct the open-water swimming competition and the triathlon's swimming phase, according to results made public by the Paris Mayor's office on Friday.
Alarmingly high concentrations of E. coli bacteria, a crucial sign of faecal contamination, were found in tests done last week. E. Coli levels were ten times higher than permitted on June 18. The levels never dropped below the highest limit set by the World Triathlon Federation, which is 1,000 colony-forming units per 100 millilitres (cfu/ml), during the testing period. Even though enterococci bacteria levels had improved slightly, they remained higher than acceptable bounds for a few days.
'Unfavourable hydrological conditions, little sunshine, below-average seasonal temperatures, and upstream pollution' were the reasons given by the Paris Mayor's office for the poor water quality. Despite considerable attempts to enhance the water quality in recent years, these causes have contributed to the river's poor status.
Over the last ten years, the French government has spent €1.4 billion trying to clean up the Seine. The main goals of this investment have been to build new water treatment and storage facilities and to modernise Paris's sewage infrastructure. Nevertheless, large storms still overwhelm portions of the capital's wastewater system, some of which are from the 1800s, and untreated sewage ends up dumped into the river.
The planners of the Olympics are confident despite these obstacles. They claim that the Seine's water quality should be improved in time for the outdoor swimming competitions if there is a stretch of dry weather and sunshine in July. It is anticipated that the river's present high water levels and elevated flow rate—roughly four to five times greater than typical summer levels—will decrease, which might help the water quality.
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