Guanabara Bay hosts test event ahead of 2016 Olympics

Between August 2 and 9, Guanabara Bay in Rio de Janeiro will be in the spotlight of nautical sports as 324 athletes and 250 boats from over 30 countries compete in ten Olympic disciplines of sailing. This is the first of 45 events in the buildup to the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

The Secretariat for the Environment inspected the location of the competitions and found that it was in “appropriate condition”. This is a disputed view, however. Members of the bay have mixed opinions on the quality of water. Ricardo Ermel, Operations Manager at Marina da Glória, for one, reported that the amount of spilled oil in the water has been reduced, but the amount of trash floating on the surface has increased in recent decades.

“Indeed, the bay water looks a lot fresher now. I even saw dolphins in the bay again last year, and there were fish and turtles too. I don't have any concerns about skin infections. But when it rains heavily I stay clear of swimming because all city garbage, sewage and rivers flow right into the bay,” he said.

Naval Academy Commander Marcelo Campos complains the debris found in the water damages will all too often damage the vessels. “Even a small plastic bag could get stuck in an engine cooling system and cause serious damage. A floating couch or a plastic chair hitting a propeller causes enormous damage, and so do PET bottles.”

Another bay user, Carlos Santos, who rents stand-up paddle boards on Flamengo Beach, says the water is in good quality there, noting that no incidents of waterborne diseases, such as hepatitis and skin infections, have been reported among his pupils.

Marco Lemos, Rowing VP, Guanabara Club, is far more cautious – at least as concerns Botafogo Beach where the club is located. “Club members do rowing, canoeing, sailing, windsurfing – and now we've just introduced stand-up-paddle classes. But one day we had to call off a lesson because the water was so filthy that people were put off with disgust. At other times it's so clean and transparent it hardly looks like Guanabara Bay. You can see the bottom, you can even see the sunken boats at the bottom. But pollution is still there, complete with dirty water and oil spills,” he maintaned.

Nawal El Moutawake, Chair of the Coordination Commission for the 2016 Olympics, said she received assurances in March that “the Guanabara Bay water will be clean and safe for the games. This upcoming event will be a test stage for the Olympics. We hope that all promises are fulfilled,” she said.

But infectious disease specialist Edimilson Migowski from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) warns that polluted water can cause serious infectious diseases. “Our main concern is sewage, because the stool carries viruses which could even cause viral meningitis. Other viruses include the Hepatitis A virus which causes diarrhea, vomiting, etc. And certain kinds of parasites and bacteria, such as salmonella, can also occur.”

Also according to Migowski, tests conducted by environmental agencies rate the water as fit or unfit for bathing based on the presence or absence of fecal coliforms, but do not account for virus concentration. He advises athletes and bathers to vaccinate against hepatitis A before they use Guanabara Bay.

Translated by Mayra Borges

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