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One of the major problems in the state of the Mar Menor on which both experts and administrations have focused their attention is the amount of sludge that accumulates in the lagoon as a result of pollution.

 

According to the spokesman for the Mar Menor Scientific Committee, Emilio María Dolores, the amount of money spent on the removal of this ‘biomass’ is around 5 million euros in 2022 so far alone, with a total of 10,150 tonnes of the stuff having been removed between 1 January and 21 June.

 

Now, one young engineer from the Polytechnic University of Cartagena (UPCT), Antonio Martínez Segado, has made a contraption that he thinks will be able to alleviate the situation.

 

The Integral System for Suction of Water Materials (SISMA), which has patented by Martínez, removes the sludge without damaging the seabed and filtering so it can be reused later as fertiliser.

 

“It is a system that was originally designed for reservoirs,” says the inventor, “but which we have readapted for use in the Mar Menor.”

 

 

The graduate went on to explain how his new invention works: “The system contains a floating device with a suction pump that sucks up the sludge, which is in suspension thanks to the action of stirrers that propel water under pressure, and propels it towards the shore of the beach through a pipe, where the filtering system is located. In the filtering process, the sludge remains in a mesh and the water and healthy sand are recirculated to the sea.”

 

He has already tested it out on a beach in Los Alcázares and in several reservoirs. Now, he wants to run more tests in the Mar Menor, to find out if it can help reduce the contamination in the lagoon.

 

“The tests we did in Los Alcázares were satisfactory, but only lasted a few minutes. We have sent several reports on the suitability of our system, but we have not yet received a response. Los Alcázares accepted, but they need permissions from the Autonomous Community that are not forthcoming,” says Martínez, complaining that “the administrations should rely more on private initiative. So far they have ignored us. We want to raise awareness that our system can be useful.

 

“Those in charge of environmental management are the ones who put up the most obstacles because they say that sludge is good for the ecosystem. I disagree with that. It can be good, but only up to a certain point.”

 

The sludge that was collected in the Los Alcázares trial was heat-treated to remove toxins and reused as compost and fertiliser in experimental lettuce crops grown in the Cartagena countryside with “optimal” results.

 

However, the inventor of the machine is insistent that his creation is no substitute for stopping the sludge from developing in the Mar Menor in the first place.

 

“It is not a solution at source,” he says, “but it will help to prevent the generation of large quantities of sludge in the Mar Menor.”

 

The invention, which is co-developed by the manager of the Cartagena-based company MC Hidráulica, can be used in all types of lakes, reservoirs and ponds, and even on the shores of seas and rivers.

 

“We are looking at the possibility of using it in lagoons in the Valencian Community, which have similar problems,” says Martínez.

 

Images: UPCT