Water charity warns Paris Olympic swimmers face “alarming ranges” of harmful micro organism in Seine river

A water charity mentioned Monday that exams of water from the Seine river, the place water occasions are set to happen in lower than 4 months in the course of the Paris 2024 Summer time Olympic and Paralympic Video games, confirmed alarming ranges of micro organism together with E.coli.

A “shadow looms over the standard of the water within the Seine River,” the Surfrider Basis Europe mentioned in a social media put up. The group mentioned it carried out 14 exams on completely different samples taken from two spots alongside the Seine from September 2023 to March 2024, and that each one however one of many outcomes confirmed poor water high quality.

The samples “reveal alarming ranges of bacteriological air pollution on the Alexandre III Bridge,” the spot it mentioned can be the place to begin for Olympic and Paralympic triathlon and marathon swimming occasions. 

“There are numerous causes for this air pollution, starting from rainfall to malfunctions within the sewage system, together with poorly related barges and animal waste,” Surfrider mentioned.

The group urged stakeholders to take motion within the time remaining forward of the video games, which kick off on July 26.

“The implications of this air pollution on well being are severe, starting from widespread infections similar to otitis and conjunctivitis to extra extreme infections similar to staphylococcus,” the group mentioned. “It is also a possibility to reaffirm how valuable well being is in all circumstances, however particularly when you’re an athlete pursuing such an enormous dream: That of turning into an Olympic champion.”

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has mentioned she intends to create three public bathing areas within the Seine subsequent yr, and has made cleansing up the river one of many key legacy achievements of the Paris Olympics, French information company AFP reported. About $1.5 billion has been spent upgrading storm water remedy and sewage amenities already, AFP mentioned.

“The primary quarter of 2024 noticed extraordinarily massive rainfall (250,000 ml over three months, double the extent of 2023) which deteriorated the standard of the water,” the Paris prefect’s workplace mentioned in an announcement to AFP, including that water disinfection amenities had not been working over the winter and can be began forward of the video games.

“There has by no means been query of opening the Seine for swimming all yr spherical,” Marc Guillaume, the highest state safety official for Paris, advised the information company.

Water high quality has been a difficulty at different Olympic Video games, together with the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2016 Rio Olympics.