Since the 1990s, Rio officials claim to have spent billions of dollars on sewage treatment systems, but few are functioning. An earlier, multibillion-dollar effort financed by international donors yielded a network of 35 sewage treatment facilities, 500 miles of conduits and 85 pumps, he said. Even some venues with higher levels of human waste, like Guanabara Bay, present only minimal risk because athletes sailing or windsurfing in them will have limited contact with potential contamination, they add. “Our biggest plague, our biggest environmental problem, is basic sanitation,” said Andrea Correa, the top environmental official in the state of Rio de Janeiro. In the end, the state government spent just $170 million, citing a budget crisis, officials said.

Source: International New York Times July 26, 2016 09:00 UTC