PARIS: A faulty valve in Paris’ sewage system was likely to have degraded the River Seine’s water quality, leading to the cancellation of a pre-Olympics swimming event, Le Canard Enchaine and Le Parisien newspapers reported on Wednesday.

The swimming stage of the World Triathlon Para Cup — seen as a test event for the 2024 Summer Games — was cancelled on Saturday due to poor water quality. Athletes had taken part in swimming events in the Seine on the previous two days.

Citing the municipal government, Le Parisien said findings from an investigation pointed to an incorrectly closed sewer valve in the eastern Tolbiac district, upstream from the historic Alexandre bridge where the event should have taken place on the weekend.

“The valve that prevents rainwater from being discharged into the River Seine appears to have leaked,” Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera was quoted as saying.Paris has been working on efforts to clean up the Seine so that people can swim in it again, as was the case during the 1900 Paris Olympics more than a century ago.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2023