During the months of February and March the regional government has carried out a number of experiences throughout several coastal locations for the cleaning of sediments in the Mar Menor in Murcia, SE Spain. These tasks are based on the use of Watermaster, the Finnish-made unique ecodredge, in combination with the geotube technology for the safe disposal of all dredged materials.
These preliminary trails have been designed for the assessment of the effectiveness of these technologies, in order to later escalate them for the recovery of the seabed and the preservation of biodiversity in a particularly sensitive natural environment.
It is important to consider that the Watermaster used for these tests is an obsolete model as its production was discontinued by the mid-90s. In the most recent version available since 2.017, Watermaster Classic V, the Scandinavian manufacturer incorporates several improvements, particularly the much enhanced pumping capacity of up to 900 m3/ h, practically tripling the performance of the machine used in the Murcia tests. The improved performance translates into much greater dredging effectiveness for this unique tool, not only from an operational perspective but also for cost optimization in environmental restoration projects where Watermaster has been used, throughout Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa or Oceania.
Another important innovation is the addition, in the aspiration line, of a rotary cutting disc which can be adapted to the material and size of the aspirated solids (plastic, vegetation, organic waste, etc.), reducing particle size and thus avoiding blockages in the effluent pipe, allowing for greater operational continuity. In combination with the geolocation module, these improvements provide the new Watermaster with the maximum capacity, sensitivity and precision required for the cleansing and recovery of sensitive areas even when heavily contaminated with this type of waste, while always maintaining full control capacity by the operator.
The Watermaster ecodredge has been used in multiple restoration projects in combination with the geotube technology, allowing for the safe inertization of different sediments such as mud, sludge or sand. The optimization of this technique for each application is a fundamental preliminary phase in which we have been involved for several projects, endorsing our offer for comprehensive technical advice during the identification of effective flocculants, agglomerants or the possible valorisation of any recovered materials.
From Portmán bay to the Guadiana river, from the ría of O Burgo to the Algarve coast, from the Fix dam to Huelva’s estuary, from Bilbao’s port to the Alqueva lagoon, the sustainable recovery of many sensitive areas in the beautiful Iberian Peninsula requires innovative and effective solutions. The combination of the Watermaster ecodredge and the geotubes technology allows for the resolution of these projects with the required capacity and precision, while keeping frequently oversized budgets under control.