Tokyo Olympics: water at the triathlon swimming venue stinks of sewage despite clean-up efforts

The host city has taken drastic measures to try to clean up Tokyo Bay after a test event in 2019 was cancelled due to high E coli levels

‘Tokyo has the highest effluent load in the world,’ one councillor said. ‘The Olympics has highlighted the long-standing issue of pollution’

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The Odaiba Marine Park, the venue for marathon swimming and triathlon. Photo: AFP

Published: 11:02am, 14 Jul 2021Updated: 11:15am, 14 Jul 2021

In less than two weeks, Olympic swimmers will dive into Tokyo Bay to compete in the triathlon. For residents who live near the shore, that’s an unappealing thought because, despite months of efforts to clean up the water, the bay stinks.

Known for its shoreline of gleaming skyscrapers and famed Rainbow Bridge, the “futuristic landscape” was selected “at the strong request of international sporting organisations”, according to the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee. But in the run-up to the games, problems began to emerge.

In August 2019 a test for the swimming part of the Paratriathlon was cancelled after E coli bacteria was found in the water at more than twice the limit set by the International Triathlon Union, now called World Triathlon. As one athlete put it, the venue “smelled like a toilet”, the Asahi newspaper reported. Since then, the host city has taken drastic steps to try to repair its tarnished image.

It dumped 22,200 cubic metres of sand into the bay to create an environment for organisms that help clean the water. And it’s designed three-layered polyester screens to protect the Olympic swimming venues from E coli. On top of that the city was already building huge storage tanks to capture flood run-off, so that it can be treated before reaching the sea.

Koichi Yajima, director at Planning and Promotion Division of Bureau of Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 Preparation, said the screen system has been tested since 2018 and will provide a secure environment to hold the games.

Yet in recent weeks, a pungent smell has been wafting in from the water.

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