Rio official visits filthy lagoon near Olympic Park in bid to restart project to clean water
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Rio de Janeiro's top environmental official says he hopes to restart cleanup work on the trash- and sewage-filled lagoon system that hugs the site of the city's future Olympic Park.
Andre Correa made the comments Tuesday while on a boat ride through the fetid waters of the Jacarepagua lagoon, which stinks of rotting waste.
Cleanup of the lagoon has been touted as one of the long-term benefits Rio will gain from hosting the Olympics next year. But work on the $250 million project has been stalled for seven months due to a conflict with the public prosecutor's office.
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With the start of the games just 18 months away, improving the site's drainage system is seen as crucial to boosting the quality of the water.