Less than a month before the start of the Olympic Games in Paris, the quality of the water in the Seine is not sufficient to hold competitions there. This is the result of a report published by the city and region on the water quality of the river in the particularly rainy week from 17 to 23 June. Despite great efforts, the contamination of the Seine water with pathogens is still too high. The current high water level also endangers the opening ceremony, reports the newspaper Release.
“Water quality continues to be compromised due to adverse hydrological conditions – rainfall, high flow velocity, low solar radiation, temperatures below seasonal norms and pollution in the upper reaches of the river,” the report says. In concrete terms, this means that there are too many pathogens in the river’s water to swim for Olympic medals. The pathogens would be broken down more quickly at higher temperatures and lower water levels, it says.
Are billions invested ineffective?
The critical situation for the games has arisen despite the fact that around 1.4 billion euros have been invested in sewage treatment plants, wastewater systems and rainwater retention basins in and around Paris with a view to the Olympics in order to make the Seine ready for the Olympics. The open water swimming, triathlon and para-triathlon competitions are to take place in the river, in which bathing has not been permitted for around 100 years – prestigiously against the backdrop of Parisian sights. Nothing has been announced so far about a competition venue that the organizers could use instead. At least the Parisians should be able to bathe in their river again after the games at the latest.
© ZEIT ONLINE
Newsletter
Naturally intelligent
By registering, you acknowledge the privacy policy.
Thank you! We have sent you an email.
Check your mailbox and confirm your newsletter subscription.
The opening ceremony will also be held on the river – and for the first time in Olympic history, not in a stadium, but in the heart of the Olympic city. On July 26, around 160 boats will take the teams and several thousand athletes on a six-kilometer route across the Seine, past the most beautiful sights from the Pont d’Austerlitz to the Trocadéro. But the current flow of the Seine is so fast that the boats would need 15 minutes less for the journey. As Libération reports, this would disrupt the ceremony’s timing, which is calculated down to the second.
Olympia 2024
more on the subject
Z+ (subscription required content); Olympics in Paris: A city goes swimming
Z+ (subscription required content); Swimming in the Seine: Gastrointestinal to the Olympics
Z+ (subscription required); Emmanuel Macron: Him or the chaos
Less than a month before the start of the Olympic Games in Paris, the quality of the water in the Seine is not sufficient to hold competitions there. This is the result of a report published by the city and region on the water quality of the river in the particularly rainy week from 17 to 23 June. Despite great efforts, the contamination of the Seine water with pathogens is still too high. The current high water level also endangers the opening ceremony, reports the newspaper Release.
