Road to Tokyo 2020: Water pollution remains major challenge

August 20, 2019

Tokyo--A series of recent test events for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics have shed fresh light on water pollution as a major challenge for the games.

In the Paratriathlon World Cup held at Odaiba Marine Park on Saturday, the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic venue for the event, the race format was changed to a duathlon excluding swimming, due to water-quality issues. The decision came after E. coli levels were more than two times higher than the International Triathlon Union's standards in a water quality test the previous day.

In a marathon swimming test event at the Odaiba area on Aug. 11, participating athletes complained of bad smells although E. coli levels were lower than the ITU standards.

A single-layer underwater screen was set up to prevent E. coli contamination in the test events. Triple-layer screens are planned for the 2020 Games.

In a water survey conducted by the Tokyo metropolitan government and the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic organizing committee in July-September 2018, triple-layer underwater screens proved effective in keeping E. coli levels below the ITU and International Swimming Federation criteria. With no underwater screens at all, E. coli levels were as high as about 142 times the international standards in the survey.

Despite the effectiveness of triple-layer screens, however, concerns remain as water quality is believed to depend on weather. Some data suggest that water around the Odaiba area could deteriorate in the two days after rain.

Both the ITU and the Tokyo organizing committee have denied that the triathlon venue would be changed, but the exclusion or shortening of the swimming part seems possible for triathlon events at the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics.

The organizing committee will also consider designating extra competition days if bad weather causes water pollution. Jiji Press