Pressures

The information collected in the pressure inventory is identified in the form of maps of the demarcation, for the different types of pressures that act on the water bodies.

Detailed information on the pressures identified on the water bodies of the demarcation is available in Annex 7. Pressure Inventory of the Hydrological Plan of the Segura basin.

Pollution caused by point pollution sources (discharges and landfills):

The inventoried pressures in the Segura river basin district (DHS) in surface waters, as well as those considered significant inducers of potential negative impact, are the following:

Source: Hydrological Plan of the Demarcation of the Segura 2015-2021

Among all of them, the main significant pressures that affect the water bodies of the demarcation are urban discharges and landfills, extractions for agricultural purposes and supplying the population, the pressure linked to the livestock load of certain masses of water, morphological changes (mainly weirs and dams) and the presence of non-native species.

The areas with the highest number of discharges are the middle and lower reaches of the Segura, as well as the Guadalentín river and the Campo de Cartagena. These river sections correspond to the most densely populated areas of the basin, and which also have greater agricultural and industrial use. In recent years, the sanitation network of the small towns in the area has been remarkably improved, and with it, the quality of the effluents and a reduction in their number. In addition, in recent years the quality of urban discharges has improved significantly, which has improved the quality of the water circulating through the water bodies, reducing the appearance of impacts on water, such as the appearance of episodes of eutrophication. .

Pollution caused by sources of diffuse pollution (agriculture, filtrations, etc.):

The pressure for diffuse type pollution has been evaluated based on the analysis of land uses, which integrates the source of the contamination, taking into account the uses developed in the watershed of each body of water (urban facilities and activities, industrial, agricultural and livestock, and other types of activities such as mining areas, contaminated soils or transportation routes, etc.), with special attention to the diffuse contamination derived from agricultural activities and consequent use of fertilizers.

The different water extraction points in surface masses of the demarcation have been identified for inclusion in the pressure inventory, using as a starting material the Register of Surface Exploitation of the Commissariat of Waters of the CHS , as well as the catchment inventories carried out by the river basin organization in the last decades.

The following table indicates the number of withdrawals carried out on each surface water body defined in the demarcation, distinguishing between different types of use for them. The number contained in parentheses indicates, of the total number of extractions, how many are significant pressures according to the criteria defined above.

Source: Segura Demarcation Hydrological Plan 2015-2021

Morphological alterations and flow regulation:

As stated in the Hydrological Plan of the demarcation, in the pressure inventory compiled in the DATAGUA Database, the incidence of the regulation of water flow, including transfers and diversions of water, has been estimated and determined in global characteristics of flow and water balance. Likewise, significant morphological changes in water bodies have been identified, including transverse and longitudinal changes.

The following table summarizes the morphological alterations and flow regulation in river water bodies of the Segura river basin district, shown in the General Study of the District:

Source: Segura Demarcation Hydrological Plan 2015-2021

48 forest exploitations have been inventoried (almost exclusively poplar) that present more than 5 hectares in a police area in the public hydraulic domain. Of these, 12 have been considered as significant pressures for presenting equal to or more than 500 m along the channel.

Likewise, the modification of the natural connection with other water bodies of the El Hondo lagoon, which receives resources from the Segura and azarbes river, has been identified as significant pressure.

Other anthropogenic incidents inventoried in the demarcation:

According to the Basin Hydrological Plan, this denomination includes other pressures resulting from human activity that are difficult to classify and that cannot be included in any of the previously defined groups, such as the introduction of non-native species, contaminated sediments, drainage land, water sports, fishing grounds, etc.

Source: Segura Demarcation Hydrological Plan 2015-2021

The underground water bodies with the highest identified qualitative pressures are those linked to highly anthropized areas (large percentages of land destined for agricultural activities, mainly rainfed, except in those areas where the presence of resources and the orography of the demarcation favors the start of irrigation production). These masses have the greatest number of significant sources of pollution (mainly agricultural). This circumstance is accentuated in the middle and lower areas of the demarcation, as well as in coastal areas, places with significant anthropic activity.

In accordance with the provisions of the IPH on diffuse type pollution, in the writing of the PHDS 2015/21, the inventory of land uses by underground mass has been updated, with the use of the SIGPAC for the year 2010 < / p>

In the Annex 07. "Pressures Inventory" (34.8 MB) the results of the analysis of the land uses on each body of water and the significant point sources of contamination are shown.

Source: General Study of the Segura River Basin District 2015-2021

Below is a summary table where significant quantitative pressures are indicated, as well as their origins.

Source: General Study of the Segura River Basin District 2015-2021

Regarding pressures on underground water bodies, 32 of the 63 identified water bodies (51% of the total existing ones) show a significant pressure associated with withdrawals due to having an exploitation index greater than 0 , 8.

On the other hand, the piezometric and hydronomic analysis of springs carried out on the water bodies of the demarcation, shows how 31 underground bodies have a proven impact due to piezometric drops and 8 underground masses have a proven impact due to a decrease in flows drained by springs subject to foronomic control by the Segura Hydrographic Confederation.

Taking into account the differential characteristics of coastal waters, and especially those of the Mediterranean, pressures have been classified

The ES070103001 Guardamar-Cabo Cervera mass has been considered with significant pressure due to the phosphorus contributions derived from the Segura, together with those generated by the existing marine farm facilities in the area.

Source: Hydrological Plan for the Demarcation of the Segura 2015-2021

Lagunas de la Mata - Torrevieja present significant morphological alterations, which is why they have been designated as HMWB .

These lagoons receive through a series of ravines irrigation return waters (especially on the eastern margin of the Torrevieja lagoon) where the presence of pesticides has also been detected, so this pressure has been considered as significant . The nitrogen contribution from the El Pinoso deposit must also be considered.

Fuente: CARM . Ministry of Industry and Environment. General Directorate for Environmental Quality. Environmental Monitoring and Inspection Service, June 2015

The identification and characterization of pressures in the area of ​​coastal and transitional waters of the province of Almería in the Segura demarcation has been based on the information on authorized discharges and the Coastal Waters Plan of the Segura demarcation (Directorate General of Prevention and Environmental Quality of the Ministry of Environment of the Junta de Andalucía).

An urban discharge from the WWTP in San Juan de los Terreros has been inventoried, for the portion of the demarcation belonging to the aforementioned autonomous community, that purifies the waters of this nucleus with a secondary treatment and whose discharge is made through an underwater outfall. Likewise, a spill of brine from the desalination plant El Cocon, in the municipality of Pulpí, has been inventoried.

Likewise, and with regard to sources of diffuse contamination, the Andalusian part of the DHS forms a less anthropic environment, consisting mainly of halophile scrub and spaces with little vegetation. However, the presence of agriculture is observed, especially irrigated crops.

The origin of Nitrogen in this body of water, it is estimated that it comes from irrigation with a contribution of approximately 16 Tn / year of Total Nitrogen.

In the Andalusian part of the demarcation there are no port facilities and the development of activities such as navigation meets with a series of restrictions, due to the existence of a marine protected area of ​​special relevance (Levante Almeriense seabed), to the existence of two zones of extraction of aggregates and its consideration as a Zone of Military Interest. Due to all these restrictions, it is not considered probable the existence of accidental spills whose effects could last for a significant period of time.

Similarly, no potentially soil-polluting activities have been identified, nor have port facilities (and therefore there are no dredges for port dredging material), nor are there any marine aquaculture facilities.

The Coastal Waters Plan of the Segura demarcation identifies 2 groynes as morphological alterations.