RIO DE JANEIRO — The head of sailing’s governing body threatened Saturday to move all Olympic sailing events out of polluted Guanabara Bay unless the water is cleaner and floating rubbish is removed for next year’s Rio Games.

“If we can’t get the water to a level, then we’ll move it outside (to the Atlantic Ocean) – for sure,” Peter Sowrey told The Associated Press on the final day of an Olympic test event.

Such a move would be an embarrassment to local organizers and the International Olympic Committee. They have said repeatedly the water is safe despite being filled with floating rubbish and untreated sewage that gushes down hillsides.

Sowrey, the chief executive officer of ISAF, said one course for the test event inside the bay was closed after floating rubbish hindered racing for two days. He also complained he received no data during the week-long Olympic test from the state body that monitors water quality.

“We are not happy as a federation from the reporting on the water,” Sowrey said.

Rio’s pollution has been in the spotlight since an independent five-month analysis by the AP published July 30 showed dangerously high levels of viruses from human sewage at all Rio Olympic water venues for sailing, rowing, canoeing, triathlon and distance swimming.

The IOC has declined to endorse testing for viruses that could sideline athletes.

Sowrey said the closely watched sailing test event had gone “pretty well,” but there was still too much raw sewage and debris in the bay.

“If we can’t get it clean, we’ve got to do something,” he said.

ISAF has three courses in the bay and the three in the open Atlantic.

But moving sailing out of Guanabara would be a blow to ISAF, which hopes to use the backdrop of Sugarloaf Mountain to draw fans to the sport. TV rights holders also love the postcard images, which look perfect from a distance.