Rio de Janeiro, Apr 25 (EFE).– Around 100 days before the start of the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games the condition of the lakes and bays where sailing and rowing competitions will take place are “between depressing and tragic,” environmental consultant Mario Moscatelli told EFE.

The ecologist, who has spent more than 20 years fighting to improve the environment in Rio, said he was particularly concerned about the state of Lake Jacarepagua bordering the Olympic Park, and Guanabara Bay, which will host sailing competitions during the upcoming Games.

In an interview with EFE, Moscatelli said that the sports event’s organizers had missed an opportunity to improve the environmental situation of Brazil’s second city.

“A few timely improvements have been made, but nothing that goes toward altering the situation of systematic environmental degradation of the rivers, lakes and bays,” the biologist said.

Pollution in Lake Rodrigo de Freitas, where rowing and kayaking competitions will be held, as well as in Guanabara Bay is not only an environmental problem but also has become one of the main concerns of Olympics organizers and some of the athletes.

Different studies warn about the health risks to athletes exposed to the waters, including nausea, conjunctivitis, mycosis, otitis and, above all, the possibility of contracting hepatitis A.

The high levels of contamination of Rio’s waters are a reflection of the inability of the regional government to fulfill one of the main Olympic commitments – to clean up 80 percent of the sewage that is dumped into Guanabara Bay, but also to respond to years of uncontrolled urban development.

“Brazilian authorities knew the region’s enormous environmental liabilities and committed themselves to fighting them, exclusively with an eye toward hosting the Games,” Moscatelli said.

However, he added, once Rio had been selected as the Olympic site, the authorities “simply did practically nothing about that.” EFE