This time, it’s the water polo pool.
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In a statement to the media, the Rio 2016 Local Organizing Committee explained that the green hue was the result of a proliferation of algae, fueled by heat and lack of wind. The spokesperson said the crew probably needed to take into consideration that more athletes in the pool would affect the water unlike previous tests conducted before the games began had revealed.
“Mid-afternoon yesterday there was a sudden change in the alkalinity of the diving pool”, Andrada said.
The pool’s water was perfectly blue during the men’s 10 metre platform event on Monday.
Maybe not, according to a USA pool expert.
Athletes have continued to compete in the pools while officials repeatedly reassure there is no health risk in either pool, but they do have some hesitance. “It will be blue from now on”, Andrada said. He said he expected the water to be back to normal soon.
“It’s so green. But, we got a personal best score, so maybe we should ask for a green pool from now on.
We are investigating to determine what the cause of the situation was, but we are happy to report that the competition was successfully concluded”, he said. But on Tuesday, the pool reserved for the diving competition was an emerald green. Wednesday, even as officials insisted they had the problem under control, they acknowledged that the problem was also affecting the adjoining water polo pool, which also displayed a greenish tint. “Algae spores can be transmitted”. “It’s nice and warm, too”.
But the swimming venue does not appear to be having such water colour problems. The scary part is how at a world event, a pool could go green.
Officials have added chemical agents to the water to clear up the algae, returning the water to its usual color. But a couple players said they could tell the chemical mixture is off.
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“They put way too much chlorine”, US captain Tony Azevedo said.
