PARIS – A French water charity on April 8 sounded the alarm about pollution in the Seine just over 100 days before the start of the Paris Olympics when the river is set to be used for swimming events.

Surfrider Foundation said it had analysed six months of tests over winter undertaken by a laboratory and concluded that the river water remained polluted and potentially dangerous.

In an open letter, the charity said it not only “wanted to share with stakeholders rising concerns about the quality of the Seine but also the risks faced by athletes moving in contaminated water”.

Paris authorities are in a race against time to clean up the Seine before the start of the Olympics on July 26, with the famed waterway set to play a starring role during the Games.

It is expected to host the opening ceremony, and will then be used for the marathon swimming events and the swim leg of the triathlon – pollution permitting.

Cleaning up the Seine has been promoted as one the key legacy achievements of the Paris 2024 Games, with mayor Anne Hidalgo intending to create three public bathing areas in the river in 2025.

Around €1.4 billion (S$2 billion) has been spent upgrading sewage and storm water treatment facilities to reduce the amount of untreated faecal matter flowing into the river and its main tributary, the Marne.

Marc Guillaume, the top state security official for Paris, attacked Surfrider’s “very poor knowledge of this issue”, adding: “There’s no point doing tests today in the Seine and comparing them with what will happen (in) summer.”

Surfrider said the tests had been carried out by the laboratory Eau de Paris and environmental analysis group Analy-Co from September to March underneath the bridges Alexandre-III and l’Alma, where the Olympic swimming will take place.

European water quality standards and the international triathlon and open-water swimming federations set limits on the concentration of two bacteria – E. Coli and enterococci – which are indicators of the presence of faecal matter.

Out of 14 rounds of testing, only one had shown “satisfactory” results, Surfrider said.

Overall, the testing had shown “alarming” levels often double and sometimes three times higher than the maximum permitted amounts. One reading showed E.Coli at seven times the maximum level.

However, the Paris authorities stressed that the samples were taken over the winter period – and one of the wettest winters in 30 years.

Heavy rainfall is known to overwhelm Paris’ more than century-old sewerage system, leading to direct discharges into the river of untreated effluent.

“The first quarter of 2024 saw extremely large rainfall (250,000 ml over three months, double the level of 2023) which deteriorated the quality of the water,” the Paris prefect’s office said.

Furthermore, water disinfection facilities were not working over winter and would be started ahead of the Olympics.

“There has never been question of opening the Seine for swimming all year round,” Guillaume added.

A giant new underground storm water facility is expected to be inaugurated later in April in south-east Paris, while the last sewage connections for river boats in the capital’s centre are being completed.

In March, Brazilian swimmer Ana Marcela Cunha, the reigning Olympic open water champion, called on Paris to have a Plan B in case the Seine was not ready.

The organisers say they are able to delay the swimming events if there is heavy rainfall, but they do not intend to move them.

In other OIympic news, the French national mint said that production of the medals for the Games remained on track despite protests and stoppages by staff since March.

“Production of the medals is not blocked,” the mint said in a statement. “All of the medals have been minted and we are at the finishing stage. We will deliver on schedule and on time.”

Protesting staff want an “Olympics bonus” which is being paid to other state employees such as police officers.

Meanwhile, the five Olympic rings will be displayed on the Eiffel Tower during the Olympics, and will be installed in the next few weeks on the side of the tower that faces the Seine. AFP, REUTERS