Two months before the Olympics, Paris' Seine River shows high E. coli levels.
The safety of Seine water for the Olympics has been questioned since a few test events that were scheduled for August of last year were postponed due to severe, unseasonal rains.
Less than two months before swimming competitions are due to take place in the Seine river at the Paris Olympics, test findings showed unsafely increased levels of E. coli in the water.
Following eight days of nonstop, intense rain in Paris, contamination levels in the first eight days of June revealed levels of germs, including enterococci and E. Coli, above thresholds considered safe for athletes.
One day after a top International Olympic Committee (IOC) executive stated there were "no reasons to doubt" that races will go place as planned in a historic downtown section of the Seine near the Eiffel Tower, the monitoring group Eau de Paris released its report.
Men's triathlon, which includes a 1.5-kilometer swim, will be the first Olympic event held in the Seine after it has been cleaned up on July 30. The following day is the women's triathlon, and on August 5th there will be a mixed relay.
The men's and women's 10-kilometer marathon swimming events are set for August 8 and 9, respectively, in waters that were previously contaminated prior to a $1.5 billion investment made in advance of the Olympics.
We are sure we'll be able to swim in the Seine.
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