An Integrated GIS Methodology to Assess the Impact of Engineering Maintenance Activities: A Case Study of Dredging Projects

Abstract

Engineering infrastructures require regular maintenance and/or repair activities that have important social, environmental, and economic impacts. Despite their growing importance, few studies have focused on fully integrated analyses. This work presents a general methodological approach to design databases of engineering maintenance activities for their assessment. This methodology was applied to the case of dredging projects in the ports managed by the Andalusian Regional Government (Spain). The resulting database contains 87 fields of information obtained from the analysis of 70 activities performed between 1993 and 2015. This database is free, public, and available to the scientific community, and it was implemented in PostgreSQL using the PostGIS extension for spatial data; therefore, it can be integrated in a GIS. The assessment of deviations from the initial projects and the comparison between locations enhanced our methodology, which represents a valuable tool not only for scientists and managers to improve the decision-making process when planning future strategies, but also to evaluate the environmental impacts.

Effectiveness Assessment of an Innovative Ejector Plant for Port Sediment Management

“…As a consequence, harbours frequently require ordinary maintenance dredging to remove the accumulated sediments [1]. Dredging is a consolidated and proven technology, but involves considerable drawbacks [2][3][4][5], since it has a notable environmental impact on the marine environment, contributes to the mobility and diffusion of contaminants and pollutants already present in the settled sediments, and obstructs navigation during its operational phases. Periodic hydrographic surveys of the harbour area are essential for the accurate determination of quantities and timing of maintenance dredging.…”