Port Authority cleans up fishermen´s dock

The Port Authority has started to clean up the port installations, where rubbish had built up and was offering a deplorable image to both users and visitors. The fishermen's quay was particularly bad. However, yesterday Port Authority sources said that it was up to the fishermen's guild to keep the area clean as they had permission to occupy it. Despite this, the Port Authority has started to clean up the area. As to the mouth of Sa Riera, the water course which runs down the Paseo Mallorca to the sea, the company Portdock has started to dredge it, to recover draught and remove the mud which was producing bad smells. The Port Authority is confident that the stench will cease once the dredging is completed. The semi-sunken boats moored opposite the windmills of El Jonquet are also being withdrawn. According to the Port Authority, the paper work needed before these abandoned boats can be removed is a long slow process. The Port Authority has a boat which spends six hours a day removing rubbish floating in the water of the port. In addition to this, at weekends, five workmen with the aid of a water tanker clean the commercial docks, the Paseo Marítimo, Can Barbera and the Ponent dock. Dirty water which runs along the Riera goes into the sea, while stagnant water has given rise to a plague of mosquitoes. This, however, is the responsibility of the Palma city council. In the past, the Riera was dry all year round, except after torrential rains, or when water was released from the treatment plant further up the stream. Earlier this year, small dams were built at regular intervals in an effort to ensure a constant flow of water, but this has proved to be something of a failure as the water is always very dirty.