"PARIS - Water pollution levels in Paris' River Seine remain much higher than allowed for bathing, data showed on Friday, one month before the Olympics in which the capital's landmark waterway is meant to be one of the swimming venues.

Data published on the city's website showed concentrations of enterococci and E.coli bacteria remained well above legal thresholds as of Sunday at all four testing points along the river.

At the Alexandre III bridge, the planned triathlon swimming site, enterococci exceeded a concentration of 1000 colony-forming units (cfu)/100 ml on Sunday, more than double the 400 cfu/100ml limit set by European law. The E.coli concentration was almost four times higher than permitted.

Water pollution levels spike in periods of heavy rain, which in recent weeks have also increased the flow of the river to around six times its seasonal average, Paris's mayoral service said on the website."

Tassilo Hummel and Julien Pretot report for Reuters June 28, 2024. [2]