WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT IN PORT TERMINALS

Abstract

After Mar del Plata World Conference, water resources management is a matter of considerable importance in environmental issues. In Brazil, the National Water Agency – ANA created by Law N. 9433/97, regulates and controls water resources use and management. The Ponta da Madeira Maritime Terminal with a storage area up to 6.4 million tonnes of ore is privately operated and dedicated to iron ore, manganese ore and pellets handling. Its area and access to operational processes require wetting and spraying to control particulate material dispersion, which is accomplished by sprinkler systems, on the conveyor belts, on unloading wagons trains and loading ships equipment. The paper objective is to map water resources use, to understand its management efficiency and to cover a gap in academic literature applied to port terminals, responsible for 95% of Brazilian exportation in volume. The single case study comprised literature review, technical visits on site and interviews applied to responsible executives. In TPPM, water is captured for wetting from tailing ponds and recirculated by water trucks and it also counts with six wells. The results showed that the management is based upon a decentralized model supported by a multidisciplinary team. The Pellet Mill uses a large amount of water and in 2012, due to little rain there was an increase in water recirculation compared with previous years. The management comprises the legislation and its objectives are accomplished by a continuous monitoring based upon managerial dedicated systems, employees compromise and capabilities regarding the activity, considered strategic for the organization.