Men's Olympic triathlon postponed

More from the article...

... The organizing committee and the sport's governing body announced on Tuesday that readings at some points of the swim course exceeded acceptable limits.

They have decided to hold the men's triathlon on Wednesday after the women's triathlon, but said both races are subject to forthcoming tests.

Events featuring athletes swimming in the Seine have been one of the highlights of the Games. However, the water quality deteriorated after rain fell on Friday and Saturday, causing practice sessions to be canceled. ...

It seems that Paris has a problem that many older American cities have ... the raindrainage system uses the sewer system to dispose of the water.

When it is not raining, that's not a problem.

But when there is excessive rainfall, a Paris has seen recently, the sewer processing system becomes overwhelmed at the amount of influx that is presented to it because of the rainwater.

The usual remedy is to just past the influx out without processing it.

Hence the issue with the Seine. There may be, ummm, pasture pastries floating around in it because the sewerage processing plants were overwhelmed by the excess rainfall.

Now I guess the IOC is hoping for that mess to just wash downstream.

@#3 ... Not sure you've presented evidence of treatment plant issues. ...

Apologies, I was remiss. I posted the comment based upon my background knowledge of similar situations.

Here is something more specific.

Here's what to know about Seine River water quality during the Paris Olympics
abcnews.go.com

... Here are key things to know:

Paris, like many old cities around the world, has a combined sewer system, which means that the city's wastewater and stormwater flow through the same pipes. With heavy or prolonged periods of rain, the pipes can get overwhelmed and untreated wastewater flows into the river instead of to a treatment plant.

That could mean bacteria, viruses or parasites get in the water, said Dr. Nicole Iovine, an infectious disease specialist at University of Florida Health in Gainesville. And it's not just from human waste.

"It's also the wildlife -- rodents, for example. When it rains a lot, all of that from those animals can end up in the Seine," she said. ...

@#3

aside: thx for that check.