2024-07-10 05:23:24
22 days after the inauguration of the Paris 2024 Olympic Gameshe Seine river improved his water quality; However the high flow could cause problems for the organizers of the sporting event.
These water quality results, motivated in particular by sunny weather in the first days of the French summer, were achieved despite a flow “four to six times” higher than “the usual summer flow,” stressed the Paris mayor’s office and the prefecture of the region in their weekly bulletin.
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Despite this, “the quality of the water in the Seine has improved” to be “in compliance with the thresholds defined by the European directive for six days” at “almost all four sampling points”, they celebrated.
For the Paris mayor’s office and the regional prefecture, the improvement in water quality is “a consequence of the return of sunny weather and warmth” but also “of the work carried out within the framework of the Seine Water Quality Improvement Plan”, which they have been co-piloting since 2016.
Fecal bacteria below threshold
The samples analyzed from the week of June 24-July 2 showed concentrations of fecal bacteria Escherichia coli below the regulatory thresholds on June 26, 28 and 29 and July 2 at the four control points.
On June 27 and July 1, only one control point showed a concentration above the threshold of 1,000 colony-forming units per 100 ml, the limit set by international sports federations to give the green light to testing.
The concentration of enterococci, the other fecal bacteria that is measured to authorize or not sports events and bathing, was below the regulatory thresholds on the same six days.
The crucial date is approaching for Olympic organisers: after the opening ceremony on 26 July on the river, the Seine is to host the triathlon events (30 and 31 July, 5 August), open water swimming (8 and 9 August) and paratriathlon (1 and 2 September).
In the event of heavy rain before the competition, which causes the indicators to rise, the organisers’ ‘plan B’ is to postpone the affected events for a few days, but not to change the venue.
In recent weeks, organizers have been concerned not only about the quality of the water, but also about the high flow of the river, which was about 500 m3/s a week ago, almost five times higher than normal for this time.
Pending time
For now, the authorities are confident, as the current height of the river is 1.7 m, and flooding of the banks begins at 3.5 m.
The current water levels do not impede navigation, but they have already caused, for example, the postponement of the rehearsal for the opening ceremony on June 24.
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The higher the flow, the faster the boats can go, so rehearsing a precise show “in 15 minutes less is not worth it,” said the Paris region’s prefecture, which believes that a flow of “between 300 and 500 m3/s” does not pose a major problem, although it will require adaptation by removing the tallest boats from the parade.
Weather forecasts for the coming days are not very optimistic, with a risk of storms.
A great ally can be found 200 km east of the capital, with four artificial lakes that serve to regulate the flow of the river, although during the winter these reservoirs were already very full in anticipation of a very dry summer.
EAM
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2024-07-10 05:23:24