RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — When Rio de Janeiro hosted the Olympics in 2016, videos of the extensive lagoon complex surrounding the Olympic Park were everywhere. Long polluted by sewage and garbage, many hoped the surge of investments tied to the international sports event would restore its waterways. That didn’t happen.
Eight years later, a private concessionaire is working to recover the aquatic ecosystem in Rio’s western zone. The project aims to remove enough silt and filth from the Barra and Jacarepagua lagoons to fill 920 Olympic-size swimming pools. Dredging started in late April and is expected to take three years, according to Igua, the company that recently assumed control of water and sewage in the city’s western neighborhoods.
Real estate development in western Rio has exploded over the last half century. Areas of mangroves and coastal forests were filled in and paved over to make way for gated communities and up-market apartment complexes. They were required by law to treat their sewage, but many shut off their systems at night to save money, according to Márcio Santa Rosa, who was in charge of the environmental management and sustainability plan.
Local watersheds also received untreated waste from informal working-class neighborhoods. Ahead of the 2016 games, Santa Rosa’s office committed to restoring the lagoon complex and the state government carried out extensive studies. But it got bogged down in bureaucracy, he said.
“There was a dispute between (st.
