Last week, masses of dead fish washed up in Rio’s Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon. The lagoon is set to be the venue for the 2016 Summer Olympic rowing and canoeing events. Rio has struggled to deal with environmental issues leading up to the games scheduled for next summer, and the lagoon is just one venue causing concern for future competitors.
While the full investigation has just been launched, state environment officials believe that the latest rains are responsible for the dead fish. According to CNN, the rain “caused a temperature change of the water and the excess of decaying organic matter, which would have led to a lack of oxygen, killing the fish.” Although the fish issue will likely be resolved before the games, the incident has raised more broad concerns about the cleanliness of the bay.
The notoriously polluted bay often pools debris from five metropolitan municipalities with poor sanitation. While the games will be hosted during dry season,when it is easier to control debris flow, it is not likely that the city will achieve much in the way of pollution mitigation before the Olympics commence.
Considering the fact that biologists discovered super-bacteria with antibiotic resistant qualities in rivers leading into the bay, it’s safe to say 2016 Olympians will do their best to avoid all water contact.
