The Port Authority of Seville guarantees the safety of the Port’s access to the sea by maintaining the depth of the navigation channel, without exceeding the maximum depth.
The dredging maintenance work is part of the operating measures included in the “Optimization programme for the navigable channel”. This work consists of making accurate bathymetric readings to decide where work is required and the resulting suction of the sediments built up at these points with a dredger.
The natural disposition of the estuary means that there are certain points where particles in suspension are regularly deposited, or as a result of heavy rain, and which can make navigation as far as Seville more difficult. Action must be taken to ensure that maritime traffic can continue to reach the capital and the other towns along the river.
Maintenance dredging is assessed and guided by scientists from the universities of Seville, Malaga, Cadiz and Huelva, as well as the CSIC.
By adopting the Working with Nature approach, the improvement of the navigation channel by the Port Authority of Seville also results in better environmental practices. These include the creation of new wetlands for water birds and the regeneration of the beaches of Sanlúcar de Barrameda.
