The Paris Olympic Games has been boosted by a major improvement in the water quality of the River Seine, making it sufficient to safely hold both the triathlon and the open-water swimming. With just 25 days until the opening ceremony down the iconic river, it is understood that new readings over the past 72 hours have finally produced markers of pollution that would be acceptable for competition. These improvements are expected to be reported officially by the Paris mayor’s office this coming Friday.
It follows a period since mid-June of minimal rain, warmer temperatures and the full working of a new storage basin that can hold 50,000 cubic metres of rain. This, in turn, has followed rainfall during March, April and May that was among the highest on record in Paris and had raised concerns that the Olympic triathlon might be reduced for the first time to a duathlon with only running and cycling. French authorities have spent €1.
4billion trying to clean up the river by improving the Paris sewerage system and building new water treatment facilities but persistent rain, as well as a lack of sunlight, still causes huge difficulty. On Friday, the Paris Mayor’s office released readings for June 18 which showed that the levels of E.coli bacteria – an indicator of faecal matter – were around 10 times above the upper limits imposed by sports federations.
Although the better news will come as a considerable relief to participants who have spent years planning to peak for a spe.
