Water, as a vital and scarce resource in many areas, needs to be safeguarded by optimising its consumption in each and every sector of an organisation that uses it in the production of goods and services. Marinas are no stranger to this responsibility; any effort towards a more sustainable use and management of resources must therefore include water.

The array of services available in marinas makes the sustainable use and management of water a fundamental pillar in any effort to improve the overall sustainability of the site and its associated services and facilities, aiming to reduce their impact.

The decisions, processes and equipment employed to access, use and manage water in the daily activity of a marina and the services offered to its users, will determine the degree of sustainability and, therefore, of responsibility related to generating a negative or positive impact, which goes beyond the perimeter of the establishment and can affect or benefit the entire community, island or territory in which it operates.

Within this context, a primary consideration is the marina's location, as its facilities integrate into a pre-existing ecosystem. Key characteristics of this ecosystem—such as the surrounding marine environment's flora and fauna, predominant currents, and wind patterns—must be thoroughly assessed during service infrastructure design to prevent adverse impacts on water quality, the natural environment, and biodiversity.

Some of the main factors to bear in mind for sustainable water management

1. Vessel cleaning and maintenance: a routine task where the water used in these processes that is contaminated by oils, paints and grease, must follow strict procedures of collection and treatment to prevent it from entering the water or nearby soils. The choice of work area, its correct equipment for proper handling, separation and subsequent treatment of wastewater as well as the selection of cleaning products to be used (biodegradable and phosphate-free among other characteristics) are key at this point to maintain water quality, and therefore the health of the entire ecosystem.
2. Rainwater harvesting and reuse: taking into account that the marina occupies a space that previously had a natural runoff system, the infrastructure must foresee or develop a system for harvesting, channelling, treatment, and reuse of rainwater both at roof level, but also at ground level (terraces) and especially in yards, in order to avoid pollutant materials ending up in the marine ecosystem. Rainwater is a natural rinsing process that carries loose materials on the ground, such as dust, dirt, tyre abrasion, pet droppings, and other produce of human, animal, and industrial activity.
3. Management of refuelling actions: refuelling actions often result in spills that pollute the marine environment. For example, automatic shut-off nozzles and air/fuel separators on air vents or internal fuel tank stems can reduce the amount of fuel spilled into the water during refuelling.
4. Sewage: Each marina should have a system for the collection, temporary storage/treatment and/or proper disposal of sewage. Toilets, discharge stations and pump-out stations are essential for this purpose and should be easily accessible and properly marked to avoid highly polluting discharges.
    

Insights

• Less than 1.5% of the world's freshwater is accessible, and of that, over half is polluted!
• Water: a valuable resource, with an excessively high purification cost in island environments.
• Sustainable water management reduces costs and helps to improve the visitor experience in marinas.