Elevated Levels of E.coli In River Seine Raise Health Poses Challenges for the Paris 2024 Olympic Swimming Events
With the Paris 2024 Olympic events quickly approaching, officials are concerned about the unhealthy levels of E.coli and enterococci in the river Seine. Continuous testing of the waters reveal that, while improving, the levels of these harmful bacteria are still deemed unsafe to swim in. This is mainly due to the unseasonably heavy rains that have been occurring in Paris as of late, which continue to play a role in the buildup of pollution in the river’s waters.
These high levels of contamination were initially detected within the first eight days of June, following both heavy and continuous rainfall. The rainfall overwhelmed the city’s sewage systems, resulting in runoff that carried fecal bacteria into the river. This is reported to not be uncommon, as once the water invades the sewers, it is directed to the Seine in order to prevent urban flooding. Unfortunately though, much of this water is laden with contaminants, and once dumped into the river, plays a large role in the levels being found as of late.
Now, with just two weeks until the opening ceremony, these high levels of E.coli continue to make people unsure of whether or not this historic river is fit to be swam in by the athletes of the three triathlon events and marathon swimming races. Nonetheless, Paris officials remain confident. In fact, Paris’s mayor Anne Hidalgo, over a phone interview, even goes so far as to call the pollution levels found as of late “good”, and ends up boldly declaring, “I’m going to dive in next week,” according to CNN.
Despite these confident statements from Paris officials, the data says what they will not: we cannot be sure. According to The Athletic, while levels of E.coli at the Alexandre III Bridge (where the triathlon swim is set to begin) remained either at or below the safe limit on Monday and Tuesday, there were spikes above the line on both June 30th and July 3rd. With the unpredictability of the weather as of late, no one can say with 100% certainty that a heavy downpour of rain won’t cause these levels to dangerously spike once again.
Furthermore, it was also earlier this week that tests at the Bercy and Bras Marie locations of the river revealed levels either at or above the 1,000 colony-forming units per 100 millimeters. This is way above what the National Institute of Health classifies as safe, or even manageable in regard to water quality, as their limit is less than 500 colony-forming units of E.coli per 100 millimeters of water and less than 200 of units of enterococci.
According to one national food poisoning attorney, “This is very concerning, as E.coli bacteria can make someone very ill, and in some cases, although rare, can be fatal. I can only hope that officials are taking proper precautions in order to ensure the health of our athletes.”
