Has the river Seine’s water quality improved just in time for the Paris Games?

The organizers of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games believe they are getting closer to a solution for one of their major challenges. They have been concerned about holding some events in the waters of the River Seine due to the water quality and potential risks to athletes’ health.

As reported this Thursday by the newspaper L’Équipe, the mayor of Paris and the prefecture of the Ile-de-France region have published a report stating that the quality of the Seine’s water has improved in the last days of June, just three weeks before the start of the Olympic Games on July 26, when the opening ceremony will take place and will pass through the waters of the Seine.

The report highlights that the quality of the Seine water meets the threshold standards defined by the European directive for six days, specifically from June 24 to 29 and July 1 and 2, according to the results of bacteriological analyses. The results are also due to the sun and heat of these dates and the fact that the Seine currently has a flow “four to six times higher than usual in summer.”

What Olympic events are scheduled to take place in the Seine Paris Basin?

In this way, and if this trend continues with the improvement of water quality, the Seine River will be able to host the two sporting events initially scheduled in the Olympic Games calendar.

The triathlon events (Tuesday, July 30, the men’s event; Wednesday, July 31, the women’s event; and Monday, August 5, the mixed relays) and open water swimming (Thursday, August 8, the women’s 10 kilometers and Friday, August 9 the men’s 10 kilometers).

During the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, the public will also line the banks of the river, sitting along a 6-kilometer (3.7 mi) stretch on both the upper and lower quays that run along each side of the Seine that goes through that part of the city center.