The water has been swimmable for most of the past 12 days, Paris Deputy Mayor Pierre Rabadan said on Friday.
The water quality of the Seine River, which caused concern for the organizers of the Paris Olympics, has improved. The water quality has been within the required limits for 11 or 10 days out of the last 12 days.
The opening ceremony of the Olympics starting on July 26 is planned to be held along the Seine. After this, open water swimming events and the swimming part of the triathlon are planned to be competed in the Seine.
It has rained exceptionally much in the Paris area in recent weeks and it has raised the Seine’s pollution levels, as untreated waste water has been washed into the river.
– We hope that the weather will improve a little, but we are not worried about organizing the competitions. They will happen, Deputy Mayor of Paris Pierre Rabadan assured.
Efforts have been made to improve Seine’s water quality for a long time. Over ten years, the French authorities have spent 1.4 billion euros to improve the drainage system in Paris.