Water quality in Qingdao will meet the standard for the Olympic
sailing event, a report issued by China's State Oceanic
Administration (SOA) said on Tuesday.
At the Olympic sailing venue in eastern Shandong Province, the
water quality was excellent for about 30 percent of the days
monitored in August and fairly good for the rest, the report
said.
The bacteria rate in the water was also below the national and
international level, it added.
The 2008 Olympic Games will open on August 8 and
run to August 24.
Six "red tides", or algal blooms, were monitored in the coastal
areas of Qingdao from 2004 to 2007. Only one, however, happened in
August and it was non-toxic, the report said.
The SOA and Qingdao government have conducted environmental
monitoring at the sailing venue since 2004, said Jiang Chongbo, an
SOA official.
Qingdao's light wind conditions had raised concern among
athletes, but organizers said at a press conference last week that
the coastal city was absolutely capable of providing adequate
racing conditions.
Qingdao Vice Mayor Zang Aimin said that judging from the last
two years' test events and the meteorologic data for the past 30
years, the city's wind conditions could meet the standards to hold
Olympic sailing competitions.
"Though the city's wind conditions are far from perfect, we are
confident that the Olympic sailing events can proceed without a
hitch," she said.
(Xinhua News Agency January 16, 2008)