A protester with the organization Meu Rio in January in Ipanema. (Felipe Dana/AP)

RIO DE JANEIRO – Tall and tan and young and lovely, the girl from Ipanema goes … “Ew, what’s that smell?”

At Ipanema beach in January, the organization Meu Rio staged a protest in an attempt to make it known that thousands of gallons of raw sewage are dumped into the ocean off Rio’s coast each day.

“For three months we held protests every weekend to turn an invisible problem into a visible one,” Leona Deckelbaum, the campaign coordinator with Meu Rio, said in a recent interview. Only about 34 percent of Rio’s sewage is treated, and the rest simply washes into the azure waters, giving new meaning to the nautical term poop deck.

Guanabara Bay, the site of several 2016 Olympic sailing events, has 78 times Brazil’s legally allowed limit of fecal pollution, and 195 times the U.S. limit. In addition to human waste, the bay is also a receptacle for trash from ships and the bay's 15 adjacent communities, as well as toxic runoff from a former landfill. And its not just Guanabara–the ritzy Leblon and Ipanema beach areas are plagued with similar pollution problems. The state environmental agency, INEA, found that Leblon and Ipanema were unfit for swimming for 40 percent of 2011. Botafogo Beach had so much fecal pollution that it did not pass a single INEA test in 2013, according to the BBC. 

"In the waters just off Copacabana beach, the measurement of fecal coliform bacteria spiked to 16 times the Brazilian government's satisfactory level as recently as three weeks ago, bad news for the marathon swimmers and triathletes set to compete there," the AP noted in November.

Olympic teams are getting grossed out and nervous.

The Irish sailing team's performance director James O’Callaghan said sewage was visible in the Guanabara Bay water during his visit last year, and, “As a result we have asked that a doctor come out with us when we travel back later this year ... It is a concern for us. Even if the boats don’t capsize you are getting spray because of your speed across the water. If you have a cut we want to know what the chances are of infection,” he told the Irish Times.

“I’ve been sailing all over the world for 20 years now, and this is the most polluted place I’ve ever been,” said Allan Norregaard, a Danish bronze medalist in the 2012 London Olympics. “It’s really a shame because it’s a beautiful area and city, but the water is so polluted, so dirty and full of garbage.”

"We've been told to drink Coke afterwards if we swallow any water,” said British sailor Alain Sign. 

Swimming in feces can, of course, cause a range of nasty diseases, including hepatitis, worms, diarrhea, tetanus, and leptospirosis, a bacterial infection also known as “rat catcher’s yellows.” A large 2010 study of Brazilians linked poor sanitation infrastructure to childhood waterborne illnesses. 

There’s no single cause for this mess: CEDAE, the local water utility, long operated largely free of oversight. And Rio’s many favelas, or informal neighborhoods, aren’t well-integrated into the city’s broader sanitation system. 

Deckelbaum, perhaps cynically, thinks the government has calculated that it's not worth the effort to start a plumbing project that costs millions, takes forever to complete, and is by nature intended to be unseen.

CEDAE says it’s challenging to handle the water and sewer needs of the sprawling favelas, where houses aren’t standardized and neighborhoods are carved into steep hills.

Brazil’s government promised to clean Guanabara Bay ahead of the Olympics, but it’s clear from photos of the bay taken in March that they’re far from that goal:

As my colleague Mark Byrnes wrote in Atlantic Cities, “Progress has been slow, so officials are also rolling out garbage boats, chains of plastic buoys, and building ‘river treatment units’ which … filter incoming trash and waste before being put on garbage trucks and sent to landfill.” 

One local ecology professor, who puts Chuck Norris to shame because he apparently wrestles Guanabara Bay’s alligator-like caimans into boats by wading into the filthy waters himself, characterized the health risk best to the AP:

"There's no way to work in these waters, where you are literally neck deep in feces in some places, and not be afraid of the health effects," Freitas said, adding that on the one occasion when he was bitten by a caiman, the small wound got severely infected because of the contaminated water. "Show me the Olympic athlete who's going to have the courage to get into waters like these."

The tragic thing about this is that Rio’s beaches are jaw-droppingly beautiful. Here's some photographic evidence from the other day:

Yes, this sewage problem will be inconvenient for the Olympic athletes, and yes, it might be disgusting for visitors to Guanabara Bay. But the bigger shame is that the chronic neglect of infrastructure here both threatens Cariocas’ health and impedes their ability to enjoy the splendor of their surroundings.

Exclusive: Rio 2016 test event will be "difficult" due to polluted waters, admits ISAF official

April 23 - Holding a Rio 2016 test event on the polluted waters of Guanabara Bay in barely three months' time will be "difficult", an official from the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) has admitted.

"But the reality is that it will only get better with time. 

"So the test event will be difficult. 

"There is a robust plan in place to remove sewage, and this will be in place by Rio 2016 but not by the test event."

But Fox, who served in the same role ahead of London 2012, also spoke positively of his visit, and insisted the concerns are being taken "a lot more seriously by the organisers and they do now seem to understand the gravity of the situation".

He described that there have been many meetings between Games organisers and the State authorities responsible for reducing pollution levels, and the ISAF have been handed a lot of data and consequently have a better understanding of the realities of the situation in the Bay.

Rio clearly have a long way to go to match the success of the London 2012 sailing competition, in which Alastair Fox was also involved ©Getty Images



This response comes after a fresh wave of criticism of pollution levels, among other concerns, this month, with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) introducing measures including task forces, a project manager, and more regular visits by IOC Executive Director Gilbert Felli to address the growing fears surrounding the Games. 

Last November, it was revealed Guanabara Bay has 78-times Brazil's legally allowed limit of fecal pollution, and 195-times the US limit, and this has led to numerous figures from the sailing world claiming the venue is simply unfit for top-level competition.
 

Fox insists the ISAF is working closely with National Federations who have voiced concerns and that the governing body, as with the IOC, will also be applying "severe pressure" that the planned improvements are put into operation over coming months.
 

But the official claims the ISAF has not really considered alternative venues and it is highly unlikely sailing will be moved out of Rio.

Fox added: "It is more feasible it could be moved to cleaner local waters, but this is not something that has been seriously considered, and we are still hoping the problem will be reduced."

"But for sure, we still need to see improvements in water quality."

Although these concerns have slightly faded into the background in recent weeks in comparison with criticism of construction delays for numerous land-based sports, the fears are shared by some of the other sports which require waters around Rio.
 

Concerns also remain in open water swimming, where pollution fears have grown since Copacabana Bay hosted events during the 2007 Pan American Games 
©Getty Images




 

International Swimming Federation executive director Cornel Marculescu's explained to insidethegames today how they are working closely with all the relevant authorities to ensure improvements at the open water swimming venue in Copacabana Bay to the south of the sailing venue.

"We're working closely with the IOC and the Organising Committee and to our knowledge the situation has improved but anyhow we will apply our rules related to water safety," Marculescu said.

"We cannot say at this stage that there are any health risks but in the event that there are, the marathon swimming event cannot be held in this venue.

"Of course we will follow this situation very closely and, if necessary, we will check for an alternative venue.

"I think that Brazilian authorities and the Organising Committee are taking all the necessary steps seriously to ensure that the best venue is available for the events [that are] part of the Olympic programme."
 

Speaking at the SportAccord Convention in Turkey earlier this month, International Rowing Federation President Jean-Christophe Rolland also told  insidethegames that they are concerned about pollution levels, but are more worried about behind-schedule infrastructure work, such as stands for spectators and changing room facilities for rowers.

He added that he preferred to view the Games optimistically and remains confident the necessary improvements will be made, and that the rowing competition will be successful. 

Pollution is also a challenge in the pictoresque rowing venue on the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, albeit a slightly less critical one ©ITG



Last month, Rio 2016 communications director Mario Andrada insisted to  insidethegames that reducing pollution levels is a "major concern" for the responsible Government authorities, but insisted environmental change could still be a major legacy of the Games.
 

He added with specific regard to Guanabara Bay that "almost 70 per cent of the sewage will be treated by 2016", and "in no other area" is more effort being made.

It is also understood the Organising Committee has no plans in place to move any events from their current locations. 

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