This pledge comes following the announcement that sailing at the Marina da Glória - one of the venues which has received most criticism for high levels of pollution - will be the first test event to be held in August ahead of the Games.

This provided an extra incentive for quick results to be produced and and Mario Andrada, communications director of Rio 2016, is confident positive results will ultimately occur. 

"We had a meeting a couple of weeks ago with athletes from the sailing and open water swimming teams," he told insidethegames.

"We spoke with the Government and the athletes and this provided an opportunity to explain what is being done and what is going to be done for the bay."

"Almost 70 per cent of the sewage will be treated by 2016, so will be technically not sewage, and in no other area are we making more effort.

"It will be a major task to do this because we have the garbage that floats there, the sewage and the big ships which all add to the pollution.

"It has to be a collective effort - the Government has the funding and the technical expertise to do it but it needs us and the athletes to put pressure on.

"We need to convey to the population that they should not drop stuff in the water."

Rio 2016 communications director Mario Andrada is confident that environmental improvement will be a legacy of Rio 2016 ©Rio 2016



Andrada admitted another potential pitfall is that, because the bay is surrounded by many small counties, many different authorities are involved and the "best thing for one party is often not the same for everyone else". 

He added: "We need to teach people.

"The Olympic Games of Rio is not a magic wand but it is the same as with the subway and the metro, it provides an excuse, an incentive and an opportunity and is a catalyst for change."

These bullish words come after huge criticism has been raised in recent years over the high levels of pollution in the Marina da Glória, as well as in the Copocobana Bay which will host open water swimming and triathlon, and the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas where rowing and flatwater canoeing events will be held. 

The Marina de Gloria still receives 60 per cent of all the sewage produced in the local area - totalling 6,000 litres per second - as well as tonnes of garbage on a daily basis. 

Competing at the venue has been described as "waging a struggle against dirt", with tyres and traffic cones among the objects still said to be prevalent.

The measures being taken, which include "ecobarreiras" outputs for rivers feeding in to the sea and "ecobarcos" to collect the garbage, follow a series of attempts over the last two decades which have failed to address the problem.

Pollution is also a challenge in the pictoresque rowing venue on the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas ©ITG



But Andrada insisted the benefits of all the water facilities will make the effort that has been invested worth it:

"The Guanabara Bay is probably the main postcard of Rio over any other landmark," he told insidethegames.

"It is a marvellous place to sail and the Lagoa is the best place to row in the world.

"It is the "Maracana" of rowing.

"But the safety of the athletes is our first priority anywhere and in every competition.

"The bay will be safe for sailors to sail and the Copacobana will be safe for swimmers and we are going to up our efforts to ensure that the bay remains the postcard of Rio with clean and sustainable waters."

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