Environmental Protection
Hi-tech project defends the Riviera
viding a breakwater, the barrage also contains a four-level "underground" car park, dry dock, two passenger ter minals and other commercial and
administration premises. "The barrage is anchored to terra firma using a kind of ball and socket, weighing 700 tonnes, which allows the pier to move while remaining attached," Mr. Porcu explains. "At its tip, it can move up to 15 metres later ally and around 1.30 metres up and down. The construction is also held to
Philippe Porcu
For most, Monaco means glitz
assistant technical director for the san
and glamour, racing cars and casinos. But aside from its rep
utation as a destination for the
international jet set, the principality is an extremely dynamic state, with 32,000 inhabitants and a busy port which has recently been expanded. One of the world's smallest states, Monaco is installing the largest water tight container ever built. "The government under the impetus of HRH The Sovereign Prince decided to construct a new barrage in order to enlarge the Hercules Port. This will provide it with new infrastructure and protect the harbour from the strong east winds," explains Philippe Porcu,
itation division at the SDAU, Monaco's urban development service. "The sea is very deep in the harbour with extremely thick silt, making a tradi tional solution impossible, so we came up with the idea of a semi-floating bar rage along with a more traditional counter pier," he explains. The barrage weighs in at 160,000 tonnes and was delivered in August 2002. It measures a massive 352
metres long, 28 metres wide and 19 metres deep, and was constructed over three years at Algeciras in Spain and towed 1,500 kilometres to its final
position by ship, a sea voyage that took almost two weeks. In addition to pro
the sea floor by anchors. The counter pier stands firm on pillars on the other side of the port. "The port is on the same level as Monaco's purification plant; previously, water from both boats and the port couldn't be evacuated using gravity, and it was necessary to bring in trucks to pump their waste," he explains."But the barrage and harbour are equipped with pumping units that enable all wastewater from the barrier, from ships berthed there and from those permanently moored in the port to be sent for treat ment. This is very significant in temis of protecting the enviroiunent - our main goal. Previously, ships disposed of everything at sea, but now we can treat all the effluent as well as rainwater and
run-off, thanks to the hydrocarbon sepa rators we've installed," he explains. A series of underground service tunnels have also been constructed to
carry wastewater, drinking water, elec trical and telephone cables. Because they are situated below sea level, these galleries are also equipped with special
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18 Environmental Science & Engineering, May 2005
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