Prevention of pollutions on the quays – rain water treatment
A prevention plan has been set up for several years on the Port of Bayonne quays that can be detailed in three headings :
- the adaptation of refuse containers; hoppers (that can be loaded onto tractors or lorries from the boat) have been treated in order to capture dusts;
- the cleaning of quays that treat the problems of dust deposits on the ground. This cleaning is carried out by sweeping and vacuuming the products and is backed up by the cleaning of the lorries themselves : a wash station has been set up in Tarnos since mid-2002. A cleaning incentive policy will be established in the next few months to motivate the lorry drivers to do this necessary job.
- The treatment of rain water before releasing it into the Adour : maize or cement dust can be captured and treated before being released into the
Adour;
- This process is in operation on the Tarnos zone : the quays have grates through which the rain water runs; the network recuperates the particles then the water is drawn off, skimmed and then filtered.
A similar plan will be established in 2003 on the Blancpignon zone and in 2004 on the Saint-Bernard zone.
Quality of the Adour waters
The observation of an estuary is always considered as complex, in relation to the ebb and flow, experts were therefore asked to make a study over three years in order to reach comparisons of interest and pertinent conclusions.
However the conclusions considered as “provisional”, since they only concern two years of study, have already give interesting indications :
Rain water treatment
- pollution of the Adour comes for the greater part from upstream of Bayonne and most likely from the Pyrénées (it may notably be due to agriculture and products used in this economic sector);
- chemical pollution attributed to the Port of Bayonne and its industry is considered as only minor:
- bacteriological pollution is more preoccupying : 80% of this is attributable to the BAB agglomeration.
It behoves each entity to find solutions : for its part, the Port of Bayonne has already undertaken corrective action notably with the plan of
rain water treatment, systematic sweeping and vacuuming of the quays and the setting up of a wash station for lorries transporting bulk merchandise. Other actions are in the process of being established. Chemical pollution is a permanent preoccupation that is shared with companies set up in the Port of Bayonne.
Within the framework of the Observation, the Chamber of Commerce of Bayonne Pays Basque wants the analysis work to be completed in its entirety (that is it will take into account the results of the third year’s observation) but is already suggesting to make this structure of consultation and joint work a permanent feature. This Observation could benefit from a specific status, permanent financing that could equally guarantee its independence.
Environment
Prevention of pollutions on the quays – rain water treatment)
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