Tests Show Seine River Too Polluted for Olympic Swimmers

With the Summer Olympics two weeks away, water quality tests show the Seine River remains unsafe to swim in. That threatens plans to host events in the river.     

2024 Paris Games planners say they believe the Seine will be ready for the swim events July 30. It is set to host the triathlon and marathon swimming events. But last week they announced backup plans in case the river is not ready. Those plans include switching the marathon to a stadium where other water events will be held. It could also involve dropping swimming from the triathlon. That would turn the event into a duathlon.    

“The potential for unseasonal weather events requires us to be cautious,” the organizers said in a statement. 

Recent heavy rains have hit the city’s wastewater system hard. The government had already spent $1.5 billion to upgrade it as part of a huge cleanup plan. The rains washed excess sewage into the river. Recent tests showed high levels of the bacteria E. coli in a few parts of the Seine. The levels are well beyond the limits allowed. Swimming in the dirty Seine has been off limits for more than a hundred years.    

Planners hope a stretch of dry and sunny weather will make the water safer. They hope the sun and dry air will kill off the excess bacteria. They said that before July 5 good weather had made the river safe enough to swim in for seven of nine days.    

The bacteria found in the Seine tests can lead to serious harm. They can cause diarrhea and other illnesses when they’re swallowed. Some Olympians don’t look forward to swimming in a dirty river. 

“My biggest concern,” one US swimmer told USA Today, “is just whether the race is going to be held or not.”  

Reflect: How do you handle challenges or obstacles that come up when you're working towards a big goal?

Photo of people sitting along the bank of the Seine River from Reuters.