We have a total of 20 different beaches only in the city of Rio de Janeiro. They may differ in water temperature, sand color, and environmental scenario, but for me they are all fantastic, however, beauty and water quality are not related in our case. If you read my report about public sanitation in Rio, you probably remember that we have huge problems with untreated sewer here. In some cases, the sewer is being discharged into rivers,  and so they end up stopping in the oceans. And that is when our beaches begin to be affected.

I already told you about some strategies that the government is using to clean up rivers and bays. They also placed thousands (I mean it!) of public trash cans along the beaches aiming to reduce the amount of garbage that end up going to the ocean. However, polluted beaches are not only an environmental problem, it can also cause several health problems, and that is why they also categorize the beaches that are proper for human contact and alarm the citizens. The  INEA(State Institute of the Environment) does exactly that. They measure the amount of thermotolerant Coliforms in the water of beaches in Rio de Janeiro.  First, They collect the water in 37 distinct points twice a week, analyze it, and then they compare the result obtained with the maximum value by law, categorizing the water as proper or improper for swimming.

Barra da Tijuca Beach - Public garbage cans in orange. (You can also see some garbage on the sand)

The INEA just published the report for this month, and the results are devastating. According to them, 4 of the 20 beaches are not proper for swimming, and 8 of the 37 sampling regions have more than 2,500 MPN Coliform thermotolerant / 100mL.  One of the polluted beaches is Botafogo the waters of one of the most famous postcards of the city: Pao de Acucar. Our reality is very worrying not only because most people ignore the water quality sign, but also because nothing big is being done to quickly reverse this situation. Some small organizations are creating ecobarriers to the material coming from the bays, but much more is needed.

The beaches that are not proper for swimming are Sao Conrado, Barra da Tijuca (only in a few regions), Botafogo, e Flamengo. I want to hear your ideas to change this situation.