Almost 100 days before the start of the Olympic Games in Paris, the non-governmental water protection organization Surfrider Foundation warned today about the "alarming" state of the waters of the Seine, where several Olympic competitions will be held.
Of the 14 measurements taken by this association from the end of September 2023 to the end of March 2024, at venues where triathlon and open water swimming competitions will be held, 13 were found to be "above or well above thresholds recommended for swimming ".
According to the 2006 European Swimming Directive and the scale of swimming and triathlon federations, the concentrations of the two bacteria that indicate faecal contamination, Escherichia coli and enterococcus, must not exceed 1.000 colony-forming units in 100 milliliters for Escherichia coli and 400 for enterococcus . Above that, the water is considered unsuitable for swimming.
The analyses, in partnership with a laboratory with which the city administration of Paris cooperates, carried out randomly and according to a predefined schedule in order to overcome weather conditions, show concentrations of Escherichia coli regularly higher than 2.000 (the maximum was 7.250) and 500 for enterococci.
The analyzed period is not part of the one planned for swimming in the Seine, which will be reserved for the summer months.
However, the analyzes that the city assembly provided to France Presse at the beginning of the year already showed that between June and September 2023, none of the 14 Paris water sampling points reached a sufficient level of quality in relation to European directives.
Faced with these alarming results, Surfrider expresses increasing concern for the water quality of the Seine and points to the risks for athletes, but also for the population.
Triathlon competitions will be held on July 30 and 31 and August 5, and open water swimming on August 8 and 9.
At the beginning of August 2023, the dress rehearsal of swimming in open water had to be canceled due to the obvious exceeding of water quality thresholds.
Bonus video:
