on this link, the instituto estadual do ambiente - inea provides the bathing suitability of several beaches, including ipanema beach - constantly updated, the red markers mean that swimming is not advisable, green markers mean waters are clean, and yellow highlights suggest using own judgment. any of rio's beaches may have polluted waters within 24 to 48 hours following heavy rains.

on this link an early morning shot of the beach is posted daily, showing water conditions. this link shows ipanema beach on a wikimapia - the link as we present it is best seen using google chrome, as zoom settings might not open correctly with other browsers.