Paris’ Seine River is still unsafe for swimmers less than one month before Summer Olympics

The 2024 Summer Olympics begin in less than a month. However, new tests revealed that the Seine River in Paris is far from ready. Paris has been rumored to have spent roughly $1.4 billion on cleaning the river, yet despite extensive efforts the levels of E. coli were 10 times above acceptable levels, according to the Paris mayor’s office. 

The Seine River has been a hot topic surrounding this year’s Summer Olympics, as it is will host the triathlon events. The recent test showed that the contamination levels in four different areas were well above the safe limit set by the World Triathlon Federation. Enterococci and E. coli are both related to fecal matter and have levels of it have been detected in the river water for weeks. Even with the new network of underground sewers to catch sewage that would typically flow into the river, the recent period of heavy rain has caused even more waste to be washed into the Seine.

Controversy broke out when Paris revealed that the Seine would be one of the Games’ event locations even thought it has been illegal to swim in it since 1923. Back in June, both the French president Emmanuel Macron and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo vowed to swim in the river themselves to prove to the world that it was safe. This resulted in a protest that’s been circulating the internet for weeks with Parisians planning a mass-pooping in the river to keep the levels of bacteria high.  

“Water quality remains degraded because of unfavorable hydrological conditions, little sunshine, below-average seasonal temperatures and upstream pollution,” the mayor’s office said, AFP reported.

Organizers continue to insist that summer weather consisting of dry conditions and summer sun will help kill some of the bacteria. Still, there is no backup plan for the events scheduled to take placed in the river, as the French President and Paris Mayor nevertheless argue that their efforts over the past decade will have the river ready in time.