Rio 2016 Events May Be Moved from Polluted Guanabara Bay

The pollution at Guanabara Bay continues to be a hot topic with the Olympics set to converge on Rio in less than one year, as the latest word is the sailing events could be moved from the area if the water isn't cleaned up. 

Speaking to the Associated Press (via Yahoo Sports), Peter Sowrey, head of sailing's governing body, confirmed the venue could be moved to the Atlantic Ocean "if we can't get the water to a level."

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Sowrey, the chief executive officer of ISAF, said one course inside the bay was closed after floating rubbish hindered racing for two days. Rubbish flowed into the bay despite little rain in Rio in recent weeks.

He also complained he received no data during the week-long Olympic test from the state agency that monitors water quality.

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Guanabara Bay's contamination has been well known even before Rio de Janeiro was awarded the 2016 Olympics, with Newsday noting in July the Rio government "promised" to clean up 80 percent of the waste and pollution before the games. 

Leo Correa/Associated Press

Per a July study conducted by the Associated Press (via the Guardian), the quality of the water "revealed dangerously high levels of viruses and bacteria from human sewage in Olympic and Paralympic venues..." Marine biologist John Griffith is quoted in the report as saying the water is "basically raw sewage."

Silvia Izquierdo/Associated Press

The 2016 Summer Olympics will begin with the opening ceremony on August 5 and run through August 21. The AP report in the Guardian notes nearly 1,400 athletes will be sailing, swimming, canoeing and rowing in Guanabara Bay. 

However, given how poor the water quality seems to be at the location, Sowery's insistence on moving the events seems like the only logical choice at this point barring some drastic change.