Unsafe levels of E. coli found in Paris' Seine River less than 2 months before Olympics
The water quality of the Seine river in Paris is raising concerns ahead of the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games
PARIS (AP) — Water in the Seine River had unsafe elevated levels of E. coli less than two months before swimming competitions are scheduled to take place in it during the Paris Olympics, according to test results published Friday.
Contamination levels in the first eight days of June, after persistent heavy rain in Paris, showed bacteria such as E. coli and enterococci beyond limits judged safe for athletes.
The report was published by monitoring group Eau de Paris one day after a senior International Olympic Committee executive said there were “no reasons to doubt” races will go ahead as scheduled in in a historic downtown stretch of the Seine near the Eiffel Tower.
The first Olympic event in the cleaned-up Seine is men’s triathlon, including a 1.5-kilometer (under 1 mile) swim, on the morning of July 30. The women’s triathlon is the next day and a mixed relay event is on Aug. 5.
