4.4 Water quality

Landfill sources (A_10)

The water pollution hotspots present in the port(s) in order of relevance are:

4) The order of relevance is listed in ascending order from 1 onwards. NA, Not Applicable.

Measures adopted by the Huelva Port Authority for the control of discharges (A_11)

The measures implemented for the improvement and control of water quality in the Huelva Port are as follows:

• South Wharf drainage connection.
• Collection of water from the docks and improvement of the pavement at the Ing. J. Gonzalo and C. de Palos wharfs.
• Connection of the sewerage system to the basic network around the Columbus Monument.
• Periodic water and sediment quality characterisation campaigns.
• Direct supervision on the quayside by Port Authority technicians.
• Installation of areas for cleaning and maintenance of equipment.
• Improvements in runoff management (collection, channelling, prefilter wells, storm water tanks, etc.).
• Specific environmental requirements on waste water and run-off management under concession conditions.
• Environmental requirements on maintenance and cleaning of equipment in service specifications and award conditions.
• Good practice agreements.
• Approval of Inland Marine Pollution Emergency Response Plans (IMPs).
• Improvement in the provision of own resources for the fight against accidental marine pollution

All binding environmental authorisations are reviewed during the audits for good housekeeping bonus payments. In addition, the Environmental Police has been carrying out important work to monitor all these requirements.

In 2023, the Huelva Port Authority is executing the project for the connection of the sewerage system to the basic network in the South Wharf.

The total budget for the implementation of the project was EUR 2.5 million.

Water quality characterisation campaigns (A_12)

In 2022⁵ no water quality monitoring campaigns in connection with the dredging works were carried out in the Service Area. Typically, the type of parameters that were measured during these characterisation campaigns were: Dissolved oxygen, pH, redox potential, conductivity, temperature, salinity, turbidity, suspended solids, total nitrogen, phosphates, oxidisable organic carbon and metals (mercury, cadmium, lead, copper, zinc, chromium, nickel and arsenic).

5) In relation to the EIS Resolution of 22 January 2018, of the Directorate General for Environmental Quality and Assessment and the Environment.

Drainage and wastewater treatment network (A_13)

In the Service Area of the Huelva Port there is a large area for industrial use whose installations have their own sewage network with connection to the municipal network. As regards the rest of the area used by the port, there is also an extensive sewage network that collects wastewater and takes it to the Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant for final treatment.

The proportions are shown in greater detail below:

6) These percentages refer to the service area of the port with facilities and in which port operations are or may be carried out. The area of the service area corresponding to marshland and without facilities has been disregarded for this list.

Runoff water treatment (A_14)

The degree of runoff water collection coverage is shown below:

7) It should be noted that these percentages are percentages in relation to the service area in which activities are or may be carried out. The area of the service area, which corresponds to marshland and has no facilities, has been disregarded. 

A storm water tank is currently in use to collect storm water at the Ingeniero Juan Gonzalo Wharf.

Schematic description of the technical means used for cleaning the water surface and weight of debris collected in the year (A_15)

On 29 July 2022, a contract was signed for the support to the maintenance of the aids to navigation and the fight against marine pollution of the Huelva Port Authority 2022-2027, which includes the cleaning of the water surface, for a period of 3 years, extendable for a further 2 years at the discretion of the HPA.

The following table gives details of the service for cleaning debris on the water surface of the port in 2023:

Activation of the Maritime Interior Plan (MIP) (A_16)

(*): According to the procedures established in the HPA IMP, the activation of the IMP for any concession requires the activation of the HPA IMP in at least the alert phase.
(**): Activation of the HPA IMP in Emergency Phase, Response Level 1.

Volume of waste water discharges generated by the Port Authority, or discharged through sewers owned by the Port Authority, broken down by type (A_17)

The activities of the Huelva Port Authority that generate wastewater discharges come from the following:

• Offices, Levante Wharf: Urban Waste Water
• South Wharf: Urban Waste Water
• Muelle Ingeniero Juan Gonzalo: Industrial Waste Water

The destination of waste water:

The water discharged into the estuary is all rainwater. There are different points of clean rainwater in the service area which, due to their condition, do not require treatment and do not have flow or volume measuring devices.