Problems with Rio’s Olympic venues are nothing new, but they were mostly confined to pre-Games kinks. When word got out that Rio’s diving pool had suddenly turned an ugly and morose shade of green, those concerns came back to the surface.
Ermmm…what happened?! pic.twitter.com/pdta7EpP2k
— Tom Daley (@TomDaley1994) August 9, 2016
That was from yesterday from British diver Tom Daley, and today, the water polo pool also turned to that ugly shade of green. So what happened?
“Yesterday mid-afternoon there was a sudden decrease in the alkalinity of the pool,” said Mario Andrada, spokesman for the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee. “Obviously, the people in charge of maintaining the pool and of checking could and should have done more intensive tests.”
They say the pools color will return to normal soon, but that Wednesday’s rains were making their task more difficult. But that doesn’t go into why the pools suddenly went green in the first place. A few explanations have been mooted, but none seem to totally fit the bill.
Now water polo pool is going green next to diving pool. #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/AjCJGhk2qR
— Beth Harris (@bethharrisap) August 10, 2016
From FINA, the world’s swimming and diving governing body: “the water tanks ran out some of the chemicals used in the water treatment process. As a result the pH level of the water was outside the usual range, causing the discoloration.” They also say the water is safe for competition.
A Rio 2016 pool consultant (what a job that must be) says that some workers went about trying to make a last second improvement to the color and quality of the water, to which he used this analogy: “If you bake a cake with too much flour, it’s going to turn out bad.”
Ironically, the bad water has helped out the divers with their competition, as it helps the competitors get a better idea of where the water begins from up high.
Whether it actually affects the competitions or not, it doesn’t look all that good on the organizing committee with another bad and public gaffe on their resume.
