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The Paris Olympics opening ceremony and two events will take place on River Seine. But will it be fit to host competition? read more
 "Will River Seine be suitable for swimming at the Paris Olympics?")
A rescue boat cruises on the Seine river near the Eiffel Tower during a rehearsal for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games opening ceremony. AP
Seine is a central element of the Paris Olympics, with the opening ceremony taking place on the river with a boat parade and two events, the marathon swimming and the swimming leg of the triathlon scheduled to be held there.
However, pollution levels in the Seine have raised health concerns.
What is the current status?
The monitoring group (State and City of Paris), based on Eau de Paris water analysis, have been publishing weeekly results. The first three bulletins in June showed the water quality was insufficient to allow bathing . The latest data, published on Thursday, however, showed that the river was suitable to hold competitive events on six out of nine day between 24 June and 2 July.
What is the criteria for the river to be suitable for competition?
Testers measure the level of two bacterias – E. coli (Escherichia coli) and Enterococcus faecalis.
According to European standards, the safe limit for E. coli is 900 colony-forming units (cfu) per 100 millilitres while the threshold for Enterococcus is 330 cfu/100ml.
What influences the water quality?
According to Benjamin Raigneau, Director of Water Quality at the Paris city hall, four factors have an impact on water pollution.
a) Rainfall. More rain more pollution runoff.
b) UV index. ”The higher the UV index, the faster the bacteria die,” said Raigneau.
c) Temperature. The higher the temperature, the faster the bacteria dies. ”Whether the temperature of the water is 16 degrees Celsius (60 Fahrenheit), or above 22 Celsius (71 Fahrenheit) like it usually is in the summer, it makes a significant difference,” said Raigneau. Paris has received more sunshine in the last week after unseasonal rains earlier.
d) The flow of the river. The faster the flow, the higher the pollution.
What have the organisers done to improve the quality of water?
Paris has built a storage basin capable of holding 46,000 cubic metres of waste water to significantly reduce the pollution of the Seine.
Once the rain water is collected in the Austerlitz basin – a 30-metre (98-feet) deep structure, the size of a dozen Olympic swimming pools – it will flow through a tunnel to a treatment plant. When the water meets the desired health parameters, it will then be poured into the Seine.
How is the decision to allow sport made?
Every afternoon the day before each familiarisation session (athletes’ swim) and before each competition, a technical committee meets, bringing together all the players involved in the issue of water quality in the Seine (City of Paris, Paris 2024, the International Federations, regional authorities and Meteo France).
At the end of this technical committee meeting, an initial analysis is made of the weather conditions.
At 3.30am on the day of the competition, a final meeting is held with all the players involved.
Who makes the final decision?
The International Federation, World Aquatics in this case, makes the decision.
What if water is not suitable for swimming at the Games?
”There are contingency days planned for the summer of 2024 for both sports, which will give us some room for manoeuvre,” organisers told Reuters.
”Furthermore, the decision-making process will be more refined and precise than ever, as the Eau de Paris laboratory will be analysing the water twice a day.”
The triathlon and marathon which are scheduled to take place near the Alexander III bridge between 30 July and 5 August, could be postponed by a few days if conditions are unsafe.
If, despite the delays, the competition cannot take place, the marathon swimming event will take place at the reserve site of Vaires-sur-Marne, where rowing and canoeing events are held, and the triathlon will be turned into a duathlon (only cycling and running).
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