Emissário Submarino de Ipanema

The Emissário Submarino de Ipanema was inaugurated in 1975 to provide a final destination for the sewage of the entire Zona Sul and Centro of Rio de Janeiro. Through a pipe 2.4 m in diameter, the sewage is discharged 4.3 km from the coast. In January 1999, the pipe ruptured about 900 m from the shoreline, and the sewage leaked closer to the beaches. Because of the rupture, the beaches of the Zona Sul, from Leme to Leblon, were closed to swimming until the repair work ended in May. During storm swells, sections of the pipe have reappeared on the sand of Ipanema and Leblon, a recurring phenomenon.

Underwater, the marine life encrusted on the pipe increases further out to sea, and a large school of fish gathers around the pipe, like an artificial reef. Many kinds of fish appear around the pipes, and rays rest on the sand.

In the past, divers used to make night dives there in the middle of the week, after work. Today, with pollution discharged into the sea every day, diving at the site requires ideal wind, sea and tide conditions.