Heavy rains have set back plans to test Paris' readiness for swimmers to race in the River Seine at next year's Summer Olympics, but Games organizers say the waterway will be better prepared in 2024.
A planned training session Friday and the women's 10-kilometer race on Saturday that were set for the river that cuts through Paris were canceled because the water quality dropped below acceptable standards.
That can happen when rains cause overflows of untreated waste into the Seine. France's capital city is spending massively on water-management projects that officials say will make pollution caused by storms less frequent.
World Aquatics said in a statement that, after days of rains, "the water quality in the Seine has currently fallen below acceptable standards for safeguarding swimmers' health."
The women's race was rescheduled for Sunday, when a men's race is also on the docket.
The competition is among a series of events being used to test Paris' Olympic plans. The Seine is the venue for marathon swimming at the Games next summer and the swimming leg of the Olympic and Paralympic triathlon.
Games organizers said in a statement Friday that the water quality will be improved next year when additional infrastructure to better manage rains and wastewater comes online. Those public works include a giant underground reservoir in Paris that will stock excess water during storms so it doesn't have to be spilled untreated into the river and can be treated later.
They also said the schedule for Olympic events in the river could be adjusted next year if the water quality doesn't allow them to take place on their original dates.
The statement said the recent weather that pushed the Seine below acceptable levels was "exceptional," with the Paris region seeing its heaviest summer rainfalls in 20 years.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.