PARIS — Water quality data used by Paris Olympics organizers shows that bacteria levels in the Seine River were within acceptable levels on the days that athletes swam in the famed waterway, according to their tests and established thresholds. The Associated Press obtained the results of daily tests for fecal bacteria on water samples taken at four points in the river two or three times daily. The data spans a period from July 19, a week before the opening ceremony, through Thursday, when the women’s marathon swim was held and a day before the men’s marathon swim.
Officials have been sharing some water quality data at briefings during the Games, but the new information is a more complete set of numbers, including the results from at least two tests each day for all four sampling sites. The river that flows through the heart of France’s capital has been so polluted that swimming has been banned for a century with a few exceptions. Paris launched massive infrastructure improvements costing 1.
4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) to ensure the Olympic triathlon and marathon swimming events could be held in the Seine. Officials claimed success after the competitions went forward largely as planned.
But the data shows that the levels of E. coli and enterococci bacteria were much higher than are deemed acceptable for competition on many days over the three-week period, generally registering as “poor” for three or four days after heavy rain fell. That raises questions about Par.