The work of the area of puddles on the beach of Valleseco already has an environmental plan in charge of making sure that it does not cause effects on the natural and marine environment that could damage them irreversibly, an environmental monitoring that will continue after its completion and which will also be in charge of the Port Authority.
To this end, the Port has put out a tender for technical assistance to carry out environmental monitoring of the operational phase, which details the actions to be carried out. Thus, for example, the prohibition of fishing or shellfishing in the “artificial reefs” that are around the breakwaters is included. This technical assistance is tendered for 55,722 euros and for three years.
Among the actions to be carried out is an environmental education and awareness campaign, for this, once the puddle area is open to the public, information panels will be installed in places visible to users, where they stand out from permanently present environmental values.
In the landscape section, the green areas will be maintained, pruning and replacing them as necessary, carrying out phytosanitary treatments if necessary, fertilizers, etc.
In the marine environment, in the part corresponding to marine communities, the characterization of the ecosystems of the work area and its surroundings will be carried out during the operation of the bathing area. To this end, a conservation area is established within a distance of 100 meters, from high tide, with the category of “Artificial Reef”, around the dikes, where the prohibition of fishing and shellfishing is proposed.
The quality of water and sediments will be controlled by performing periodic physical-chemical analyses. In addition, any floating debris (plastic, ropes, boats, etc.) that could be retained in the sheltered waters will be periodically removed.
As for waste, it must be adequately treated, as well as adequate maintenance and repair of the facilities and infrastructure. In addition, the sound situation in the facilities will be characterized.
Finally, before the rainy season, the proper cleaning of scuppers, rainwater pipes, gutters, drainage points will be carried out, to avoid flooding, obstructions, or breakage of elements due to erosion.
There will also be a control of sea urchin populations, as well as a control of noise levels.
Delay
After the last visit of the construction management, the company that was awarded the same has requested a new extension to deliver the work. In this way, from the end of July, it has gone to a forecast of mid-August.
It is the third extension that has been requested, since, initially, the work was scheduled to be completed in April, then it was moved to May, July, and now August. Although the marine part is finished, the truth is that the auction in the terrestrial part is taking longer than expected.
On the part of the Santa Cruz City Council, before receiving the work, they advance that they will verify that everything complies with what is included in the project, and if it is not, they will not receive the work until it is corrected.
