Test results published on Friday revealed that water quality in the Seine falls below the standards needed to allow swimming shortly before the start of the Paris Olympics.
revive concerns about whether the long-polluted waterway will be clean enough to host swimming competitions, since water quality is deeply linked to the climate in the French capital.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo made a highly publicized drop last week in an attempt to ease fears. The Seine will be used for swimming marathons and triathlons.
Daily water quality tests measure levels of fecal bacteria known as E. coli.
Tests by the Eau de Paris monitoring group show that in Bras Marie, E. coli levels were then above the safety limit of 900 colony-forming units per 100 milliliters set by European standards on June 17, when the mayor took a dive.
The site hit 985 on the day the mayor swam with Paris 2024 boss Tony Estanguet and the Paris region’s top government official, Marc Guillaume, joined her, along with swimmers from local swimming clubs .
At two further measurement points further downstream the results were below the threshold.
The statement from the municipality of Paris and the prefecture of the Paris region found last week that water quality is in line with European standards six days a week at the site that will host the Olympic swimming competitions.
It is noted that “the flow of the Seine is highly unstable due to regular rainfall episodes and remains more than double the normal flow in summer”, explaining the fluctuating test results.
Bathing in the Seine has been prohibited for over a century. Since 2015, organizers have invested $1.5 billion to prepare the Seine for the Olympics and to ensure Parisians have a cleaner river after the Games.
The plan involved building a giant underground water storage basin in central Paris, renovating sewer infrastructure and upgrading wastewater treatment plants.