Paris: The Seine River still failed to test its water quality a month before the Olympics, which is scheduled to host the open water swimming event and the swimming leg of the triathlon.
The latest test, completed last week and issued by the municipality of Paris, showed that the bacteria E.Coli, an indicator of contamination, exceeded the upper limit set by sports federations.
On June 18, the level of E. coli reached 10 times the acceptable level and never fell below the upper limit of 1,000 colony forming units per 100 milliliters (cfu / ml) used by the World Triathlon Federation.
Enterococcal bacteria readings are better, but have been very low for several days last week.
“Water quality is declining due to poor hydrological conditions, low sunlight, average seasonal temperatures and high flow pollution,” the municipality said in a statement.
French authorities have spent 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) over the past decade to clean up the river by improving Paris’s sewer system, as well as building new water treatment plants and reservoirs.
But major storms still weaken the capital’s sewage system, some of which dates back to the 19th century, and untreated sewage flows directly into rivers.
After months of unusually wet weather, the Seine rose to four to five times its normal summer level, according to the latest readings.
Organizers say July should have dry weather and enough sunshine to make the Seine suitable for outdoor swimming.
