Paris Olympic Organizers Prepare for Potential Water Quality Concerns at Seine River

The Paris Olympics are just around the corner, but the question on everyone’s mind is whether the Seine River will be clean enough for athletes to swim in. Triathlon and marathon swimming events are scheduled to take place in the long-polluted river, where it has been illegal to swim for over a century.

Paris has invested a whopping 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in building infrastructure to catch stormwater and prevent bacteria-laden wastewater from entering the river during heavy rain, making it unsafe for human contact. Despite these efforts, the water quality has been unstable, with E. coli levels fluctuating between safe and unsafe limits in recent weeks.

A giant underground water storage basin has been inaugurated next to the Austerlitz train station to collect excess rainwater and treat it before it flows into the Seine. This is part of a larger effort to improve the river’s cleanliness not just for the Olympics, but for the future as well.

Organizers are optimistic that the infrastructure upgrades and predicted dry, sunny weather during the Games will allow the events to proceed as planned. However, if heavy rain affects the river’s flow, the swimming portion of the triathlon may be canceled, and the marathon swimming competition could be relocated.

Athletes like French triathlete Léonie Périault, who has swum in the Seine for years without issues, are frustrated by the ongoing debate over the river’s cleanliness. Some officials, including the French Sports Minister and Paris Mayor, have taken a plunge into the river to show that it is clean enough for swimming.

While improvements in the Seine’s water quality have been observed, experts warn that the river remains fragile, and it’s difficult to predict how conditions will change in the coming weeks. The Games are set to begin on July 26, and all eyes are on the Seine River as athletes and organizers await a decision on the safety of swimming in its waters.