It will be connected to existing rainwater collectors, with waste being redirected along the existing networks, thus avoiding any disposal in the Guanabara Bay in which the Marina is situated.

The work is scheduled to be completed by September 2015, with a Rio 2016 spokesperson telling insidethegames today that they hope construction will start next week.

Backed by the State Government and the state water utility company Cedae, the project has been budgeted at BRL$13.4 million (£3.5 million/$6 million/€4.5 million), and is being heralded as a wider legacy of Rio 2016.

This announcement comes less then a month after the conclusion of a sailing test event on Marina da Glória, after which the International Sailing Federation said they were pleased with improvements regarding pollution but remain concerned about dead animals and debris in the water, something the new project will not necessarily address.

Despite many concerns, the Rio 2016 sailing test event last month was hailed as a general success, although more improvements are needed ©Getty Images



Pollution concerns have formed a major component of the wider criticism Rio 2016 has received in recent months, particularly because reducing such levels across the entire Guanabara Bay was originally supposed to be a major legacy of the Games.

In June, Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes even admitted plans to reduce levels across the entire Bay by 80 per cent would not happen as initially projected.

Now, however, a more optimistic view is being offered that they will in fact still achieve this aim, with the latest project cited as evidence of this, despite the fact that, because it focused specifically on the Marina, it could be interpreted as evidence of a more limited aim.

"This is one more example of how the Games can serve the city," said Leonardo Espíndola, Rio State Government's chief of staff.

"This project will remain as a permanent legacy of the Games.

"We have already reached the point of treating approximately 50 per cent of sewage and, without a doubt, in 2016 we will have a much better Bay for competitors and the population."

Rio 2016 President Carlos Nuzman is confident this will prove the final step in ensuring the success of the Olympic competition. 

"We passed the test of the sailing event, which was praised by both the International Sailing Federation and the athletes," he said.

"We are pleased to see these projects happening because Guanabara Bay is one of the picture-postcard sites of the Games.

"All these efforts will create a unique setting for Olympic sailing.

"This project, which removes the stormwater drain at Gloria Marina, will be a key step to the success of the Olympic sailing regattas."

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