The Seine is anticipated to host the opening ceremony, and can then be used for the marathon swimming occasions and the triathlon — air pollution allowing. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters
A French water charity sounded the alarm on April 8 about air pollution within the Seine simply over 100 days earlier than the beginning of the Olympics when the river is ready for use for swimming occasions.
Surfrider Foundation stated it had analysed six months of checks over winter undertaken by a laboratory and had concluded that the river water remained polluted and probably harmful.
In an open letter, the Biarritz-based charity stated it “wanted to share with stakeholders its rising concerns about the quality of the Seine but also the risks faced by athletes moving in contaminated water.”
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Paris authorities are in a race in opposition to time to scrub up the Seine earlier than the beginning of the Olympics on July 26, with the famed waterway set to play a starring position in the course of the Games.
It is anticipated to host the opening ceremony, and can then be used for the marathon swimming occasions and the triathlon — air pollution allowing.
Cleaning up the Seine has been promoted as one the important thing legacy achievements of the Paris 2024 Games, with mayor Anne Hidalgo meaning to create three public bathing areas within the river subsequent yr.
She and President Emmanuel Macron have additionally promised to take a dip earlier than the Games to display it’s protected — simply over a century since public swimming was banned there in 1923.
Around 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) has been spent upgrading sewage and storm water remedy services to scale back the quantity of untreated faecal matter flowing into the river and its principal tributary, the Marne.
Marc Guillaume, the highest state safety official for Paris, attacked Surfrider’s “very poor knowledge of this issue”, including: “There’s no point doing tests today in the Seine and comparing them with what will happen next summer.”
‘Alarming’
Surfrider stated the checks had been carried out by the laboratory Eau de Paris and environmental evaluation group Analy-Co from September to March beneath the bridges Alexandre-III and l’Alma, the place the Olympic swimming is ready to happen.
European water high quality requirements and the worldwide triathlon and open-water swimming federations set limits on the focus of two micro organism — E. Coli and enterococci — that are indicators of the presence of faecal matter.
Out of 14 rounds of testing, just one had proven “satisfactory” outcomes, Surfrider stated.
Overall, the testing had proven “alarming” ranges usually double and generally three-times larger than the utmost permitted quantities. One studying confirmed E.Coli at seven occasions the utmost degree.
Paris authorities pressured that the samples had been taken over the winter interval — and one of the wettest winters in 30 years.
Heavy rainfall is thought to overwhelm Paris’ greater than century-old sewage system, resulting in direct discharges into the river of untreated effluent.
“The first quarter of 2024 saw extremely large rainfall (250 000 ml over three months, double the level of 2023) which deteriorated the quality of the water,” the Paris prefect’s workplace stated in a press release.
Furthermore, water disinfection services weren’t working over winter and could be began ahead of the Olympics.
“There has never been question of opening the Seine for swimming all year round,” Mr. Guillaume added.
An enormous new underground storm water facility is anticipated to be inaugurated later this month in southeast Paris, whereas the final sewage connections for river boats within the centre of the capital are presently being accomplished.
Cleaning up the Seine had been “probably the most difficult (Olympic) project to organise,” deputy Paris mayor Emmanuel Gregoire informed reporters final Friday.
Plan B?
Three Olympic check occasions within the Seine had been cancelled final July and August as a result of elevated E. Coli readings.
The disruption was blamed on very heavy rainfall and a defective sewer valve which led to soiled water being discharged into the river.
Last month, Brazilian swimmer Ana Marcela Cunha, the reigning Olympic open water champion, known as on Paris to have a plan B in case the Seine was not prepared.
Organisers say they’re able to delay the swimming occasions within the occasion of heavy rainfall, however they don’t intend to maneuver them.
Olympic open-water swimming has been hit by air pollution considerations previously.
At the top of the check occasion in 2019 ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, swimmers protested in opposition to the standard of the water in Tokyo Bay.
At the Rio Olympics in 2016, the prospect of swimming within the polluted Guanabara Bay additionally made headlines.
