http://bigstory.ap.org/article/rios-olympic-waterways-full-trash-sewage

RIO'S OLYMPIC WATERWAYS FULL OF TRASH, SEWAGE
By JENNY BARCHFIELD
— Nov. 20, 2013 12:02 AM EST

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Rio de Janeiro's endless beaches and lush tropical 
forest will be a photographer's dream during the 2016 Olympics. But zoom 
in on the likes of once-pristine Guanabara Bay, and the picture is of 
household trash and raw sewage.

In the neon green waters around the site of the future Olympic Park, the 
average fecal pollution rate is 78 times that of the Brazilian 
government's "satisfactory" limit — and 195 times the level considered 
safe in the U.S. Nearly 70 percent of Rio's sewage goes untreated, 
meaning runoff from its many slums and poor neighborhoods drain into 
waters soon to host some of the world's best athletes.

Unless Brazil makes headway in cleaning up its waters, experts warn the 
Summer Games could pose health risks to athletes and mar what officials 
hope will be their global showcase event. Instead of the soaring vistas 
of Sugarloaf Mountain, the world could instead see old couches in the 
bay and tons of dead fish floating atop a city lake.

Rio's Olympic committee has pledged in writing that the pollution 
problems will be fixed, and many had hoped the Olympics would force 
authorities to tackle decades of neglect and poor planning that have 
blighted waterways.

Leonardo Gryner, chief operating officer of Rio's organizing committee, 
has acknowledged the extent of the water quality problem. But he said 
projects were "well advanced" to make good on the city's commitment to 
reduce 80 percent of the pollution flowing into the bay, where sailing 
and wind surfing events are to be held.