Given the growing need for new sources of water for human and industrial consumption, in order to unify criteria in the evaluation of desalination projects, the General Directorate of the Maritime Territory and Merchant Marine (“DIRECTEMAR”) has published the following 3 guides with basic technical guidelines:

Guide for the Environmental Assessment of Industrial Desalination Projects in Jurisdiction of the Maritime Authority

The purpose of this guide is to update the minimum requirements that Environmental Impact Studies or Declarations (“EIA” or “DIA”) in the jurisdiction of the Maritime Authority (“AM”) must contain and that were prepared in 2015. Its guidelines are based on the experience of evaluated projects and are governed in accordance with the content required in the Environmental Impact Assessment System (“SEIA”), to facilitate their understanding.

Therefore, it establishes the minimum technical requirements ordered by the AM for the environmental evaluation of industrial desalination plant projects, in the baseline, construction, operation and closure stages, which production capacity exceeds 1,000 m3/d.

Its scope includes those desalination projects, whether these are submitted to the SEIA or not, and considers the different phases of the projects, as well as the temporal aspect of the minimum information to be submitted by the project owners.

Methodological Guide for Sectoral Technical Review of Oceanographic Guidelines for EIAs of Projects that Include RILES Discharges in Jurisdiction of the Maritime Authority

Its objective is to establish oceanographic guidelines within the framework of EIAs of projects listed within the typologies capable of causing environmental impact, in any of their phases, and that must be submitted to the SEIA.

It aims to unify criteria and establish guidelines that allow the characterization of the physical oceanography component for the subsequent prediction of impacts on the marine environment of projects that include discharges of industrial liquid waste (“RILES”) to the marine environment.

It will be applied as a Technical Standard in the process of preparing the EIAs submitted to evaluation by the Local or Interregional AM, within the framework of the SEIA.

Guide for the Modeling of Hydrodynamics and the Mixing Process of Saline and Thermal Discharges Associated with Projects of Thermoelectric and Desalination Plants

This guide is presented for the modeling of the hydrodynamics and mixing process of saline and thermal plume discharges for projects of thermoelectric and desalination plants, which are reviewed by the Directorate of Maritime Interests and Aquatic Environment of DIRECTEMAR.

Its objective is to define the necessary modeling studies to define the Area of Influence of seawater discharges associated with projects of thermoelectric and desalination plants that are released into oceanic waters, fjords, and estuaries under the jurisdiction of the AM.

The guide should be considered as a recommendation of good modeling practices, not having a normative character. It includes elements associated with modeling and field records necessary to calibrate and validate the various models, as well as criteria and methodologies for monitoring variables.

For more details:

1. Thermal Plumes And Salinas Modeling Guide 2021 (in Spanish)
2. Desalination Environmental Assessment Guide 2021 (in Spanish)
3. Methodological Guide Oceanographic Guidelines RILES 2021 (in Spanish)
4. Guidelines for desalination projects