Sewage Treatment Plant Opens Near Deodoro -- Rio Roundup

(ATR) A new treatment plant will save 65 million liters of sewage from flowing into Guanabara Bay when reaching full capacity.

Built in the city’s West Zone near the Deodoro Olympic Park, the plant will serve the Bangu, Deodoro, Realengo, Padre Miguel, Magalhães Bastos, Jardim Sulacap and Vila Militar neighborhoods of Rio de Janeiro. It was inaugurated on May 26 and is expected to serve 430,000 people in one of the most populous areas of the West Zone.

Mayor Paes told reporters at the inauguration that the facility is expected to reach 55 percent treatment by the end of the year. Currently the region only sees about five percent of sewage treatment before it flows into the Bay.

"This is a big delivery to the city, as we are talking about half of Rio's territory with two-fifths of the population in the West Zone being served," Paes said. "Best of all it was done without spending public money, with the City paying for it. The population will pay the same rate it paid before and now will have the benefit of sewage."

The project is being touted by City Hall as a legacy project from the 2016 Olympic Games.

Originally, Rio de Janeiro said they would reach a goal of treating 80 percent of raw sewage that flows into Guanabara Bay before the 2016 Olympics. Officials have said that target will not be met, but Mayor Paes said last month he expects close to 60 percent of sewage to be treated come the time of the Games.

Bike Path Report Coming Soon

Mayor Eduardo Paes says the collapse of the Ciclovia Tim Maia was caused by a "design flaw."

Paes spoke to reporters about the imminent report due from the city regarding the bike path’s failures on May 26. The report will be delivered next week, just over a month after two people were killed from the collapse of the path.

The $12.6 million path was built as a legacy project for the city from the 2016 Olympics. On April 21 a section of the path between Ipanema and São Conrado collapsed after it was struck by large waves from the Atlantic Ocean.

"I think it's increasingly clear that there was a design project problem, and we will soon be announcing the solution in relation to the bike path," Paes said. "It is obvious that the city is putting more attention to these issues. There was a tragedy, a fatality, a mistake, and as I said from day one, you cannot blame nature. We will identify who made that and that person will have to answer for mistakes."

After the incident in April, Paes said that he expects the city will rebuild the bike path in time for the 2016 Olympics. Contemat, in charge of the project, has also been in charge of the reconstruction efforts.

Homepage photo: Getty Images

Written by Aaron Bauer in Rio de Janeiro

20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.