VANCOUVER — A city councillor in Vancouver says he wants the developer of the Olympic Village to investigate serious allegations that the development may become plagued by mould.

Coun. Raymond Louie said Millennium Southeast False Creek Properties Ltd. should inspect hot and cold water pipes in the massive developments after the Vancouver Province revealed that unwrapped pipes could cause mould and mildew inside the project, which is being fast-tracked to provide housing for athletes arriving for the 2010 Winter Olympics in less than eight months’ time.

“I expect the developer to ensure that the contractors and subcontractors do the job properly,” said Louie. “If there have been shortcuts, I would expect them to do a level of inspection.

“Depending on what they find, they might want to do further inspections.”

Lee Loftus, business manager for the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Union Local 118, provided photos and brought the substandard practices to the attention of Millennium Properties.

But, after little was done, Loftus alerted the Province, and by Sunday the controversy was everywhere.

“It’s been a zoo,” said Loftus, fielding non-stop calls from media outlets and various contractors.

“The developer has called all the mechanical contractors, and the mechanical contractors have called the insulation contractors. There are threats of litigation already.”

The $1-billion project has already made plenty of news — for all the wrong reasons.

The City of Vancouver has already invested more than $450 million to make sure the athlete’s village is completed — money it hopes to recoup when the units are sold or rented after the Olympics.

The city was also forced to finance the development after buying out the troubled Fortress Investment Group earlier this year.