Rio de Janeiro, which promised to clean up their heavily polluted waters by the time the sailing events for the 2016 Olympics were held, is having a problem keeping its word.

The Instituto Rumo Nautico, a Brazilian sailing and environmental organization, has announced that it has declined a city contract to help clean up the sewage and trash from Guanabara Bay.

Under the terms of contract, the government would have given the organization $6.3 million to help remove garbage from the competition areas by employing “eco-boats,” which are designed to scoop away floating trash, and by using barriers to prevent floating trash from getting to the bay.

As reported in The Associated Press, the contract was declined due to "institutional risks."

Environment Secretary Andre Correa is disheartened by the organization’s decision, saying the priority is now to create an emergency plan in order to clean up the area where the Olympic sailing events will be held before the waters are tested this August.

In the tourist-mecca city of 12 million, a great deal of the sewage goes untreated and the garbage pick-up is sporadic. This leads to tons of raw sewage and trash going right into Guanabara Bay, not to mention the lakes, lagoons and beaches of Rio.

When Guanabara Bay was announced as the spot for the summer games, many sailors expressed concerns that competitors might become ill due to the spray of the sewage-filled waters, and might even face possible collisions with floating couches or refrigerators.

Correa has pledged that the August water tests will go on without a hitch, saying: "No effort will be spared and we'll join forces so that this year's test event takes place within the expected (water quality) levels, as last year's did."

Environmentalists have argued that last year’s water test benefited from a high tide that flushed many of the pollutants out of the competition route.