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We’re less than four months away from the start of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, and there are already concerns about the bacteria levels in the Seine as officials gear up for multiple events that will harness the famed river that runs through the heart of the city.
In July, more than 10,000 athletes representing over 200 countries around the globe will descend upon France for the 2024 Olympics, which will officially commence when the opening ceremony kicks off on July 26th.
The powers that be in Paris decided to embrace an unconventional approach to an event that’s typically held inside a cavernous stadium, as every national delegation will make its grand arrival on the boats that will parade down the Seine in front of the hundreds of thousands of spectators who will line the banks of the river.
As things currently stand, a section of the Seine in front of the Grand Palais will be harnessed for the 10-kilometer swimming marathon as well as the swimming leg of the triathlon, but there are currently some questions about whether or not that will actually end up being the case based on the current state of the river.
According to The Washington Post, a conservation group called The Surfrider Foundation has spent six months examining water samples taken near the bridge that will be used for the swimming marathon’s finish line and claims it’s detected “alarming” levels of E. coli and enterococci, two forms of bacteria that are linked with fecal matter.
That’s obviously not an ideal situation for a waterway that’s preparing to welcome some of the best aquatic athletes on the planet, but officials overseeing the preparations for the Summer Olympics don’t seem to be concerned.
A press release noted there are currently plans to install “water treatment plant disinfection units” and force boats that currently dispose of body waste in the Seine to pivot to other methods in the months leading up to the Olympics. Paris is also preparing to open a new underground basin designed to minimize the overflow of stormwater that can contribute to pollution levels in the river.
You may remember a similar issue rearing its ugly head when the Summer Olympics were held in Rio in 2016, as the water that was used for some events boasted bacteria levels that were at one point 1.7 million times higher than the generally accepted threshold.
It doesn’t sound like the problem in Paris will be that severe, but it’s still worth keeping an eye on—especially when you consider there’s currently no backup plan in place.