1 of the green pools at Olympics to be drained and refilled

So far attempts to make the pools blue again have failed, and with the sycnhronized swimming due to get started, drastic measures are being taken to ensure the water polo pool is usable.

The water in the diving well turned a dark shade of green on Tuesday and the larger pool began to turn the same colour the following day. Hopefully that means we haven’t been diving in anything too bad the last couple of days!

Draining the water will start Saturday afternoon and the process of replacing the water should take place overnight. The dirty water will be disposed of using the city’s sewage system, which has already come under intense scrutiny for dumping untreated waste into waters that are being used for rowing, canoeing, sailing, triathlon and open water swimming.

“We repeatedly put pressure for the organizing committee to act to have dignified competitions here”, he said.

“This is a way of cleaning swimming pools but you’re not supposed to combine it with chlorine”, director of venue management Gustavo Nascimento said. Our contractor’s failure is our failure.

Some athletes have complained of itchy or sore eyes.

Standing next to the clear pool in the Maria Lenk Aquatic Centre the weird colour of the competition pool became apparent and earlier reports claimed it was due to a “proliferation of algae”.

Replacing the water in time for the early-morning training and competition at 11 a.m. local time was a significant challenge – the pool holds almost 1 million gallons. Officials have assured athletes that the green water poses no health risks. Andrada said water in the main pool would be replaced because synchronised swimming competitors and judges needed to see underwater, unlike diving.

Both the water polo and diving pools turned green this week, leaving organisers baffled, though a mix of chemicals appears to be the reason for the colour-change.

Rio Games spokesperson Mario Andrada apologized for the mishap at a press conference on Saturday.

“Of course it’s an embarrassment”, said Andrada. “And also we should have – and could have – done better in fixing it quickly”.

Luckily for them, divers have been taking it in their stride. “So it has some impact but it’s not a big problem”.

Nascimento says hydrogen peroxide may be to blame for the green coloring. He jokes, “if it were green and yellow, we would know it was a patriotic thing”. “We’re all in this together”.