Is the Seine safe to swim in? This has been a widely debated topic of discussion.

Seine River Pollution

July 31, 2024– According to this TikTok video posted by user @zozomccormack just hours ago, the Seine River in France was deemed unsafe for Olympic athletes as swimming events were canceled due to unsafe levels of E.Coli in the Seine. The Seine has been long-polluted so its involvement in the Olympics 2024 has been controversial.

@zozomccormack

SWIMMING IN THE SEINE HAS BEEN CANCELLED TODAY!!! the men’s triathlon Olympics event is postponed to tomorrow, the same day as the women’s after water quality tests are still unsafe… ???? hopefully the Paris Olympics 2024 get to use the Seine eventually, only if it’s safe for the athletes! *some of these videos were filmed today but most were filmed over the last month #parisolympics2024 #parisolympics #olympics #olympics2024 #parisseine #seineriver #seineparis #olympicsparis2024 #triathlon

♬ original sound – ZOE IN PARIS ????????

Seine River Olympics

Levels of the latest water quality tests were above the acceptable limit as announced by the World Triathlon Organization. This was discovered mere hours before the Men’s Triathlon was set to start. As a matter of fact, both training sessions for the Seine were cancelled as a result of water contamination in that E.Coli levels have been between 3 and 9 times more than allowed. This is reportedly because of the rain from the opening ceremonies on Friday.

The rain supposedly floods the sewage system which flows into the river. Even though the city spent approximately 1.4 billion euros on an improved infrastructure system to help stop as much sewage from entering the Seine as possible, heavy rainfall has seemingly hindered these efforts.

At the time the video was posted yesterday, officials were confident water quality would improve by the next day.

Seine River Water Quality

Well, we have reached the next day and it looks like the water quality has actually improved and swimmers dove into the Seine today, Wednesday.

As mentioned here, organizers declared the water in Paris “safe for swimming” after the past few days of concerns about elevated bacteria levels.

What happens if you swim in water with E. coli?

This frequently Googled question recently claims that most strains of E. coli are not dangerous to people. However, some people can experience symptoms such as; diarrhea, urinary tract infections, and other infections from some strains.

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Published by HOLR Magazine

Image Credit: @zozomccormack TikTok 

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