Dhamra Port (India), Settling Ponds and Reuse of Stockyard Runoff

Dhamra Port is a deep-draft, multi-cargo port on India's east coast, operated by Dhamra Port Company Limited, a subsidiary of Adani Ports and SEZ. It handles coal, limestone and iron ore, with mechanized storage yards covering more than 180,000 square meters for coal, iron ore and thermal coal, plus semi-mechanized coal and limestone yards (Adani Ports, n.d.). Rain falling on open stockyards and roads picks up coal and ore fines. The port's environmental clearance therefore requires runoff to be managed before it reaches nearby creeks and the coast (DPCL, 2023).

Approach

Settle runoff before release. The port has built three settling ponds to treat runoff water (DPCL, 2023).

Reuse treated water. Treated runoff from the settling ponds is used for dust suppression on internal roads. This cuts demand for fresh water and returns captured water to dust control (DPCL, 2023).

Keep natural drainage working. The port maintains the drainage pattern approved in its environmental plan, and keeps creeks clear so water flows freely from both outside and inside the site (DPCL, 2023).

Test water quality independently and report it. Laboratories approved by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change test water quality periodically. Results go to the State Pollution Control Board and the ministry (DPCL, 2023).

Protect the waterfront. The port has committed to erosion control at waterfront facilities and to shoreline protection works that stop soil eroding from the site boundary (DPCL, 2023).

Results

The port reports that all water quality results for the period were within the prescribed standards (DPCL, 2023). The report does not give pond capacities, the volume of runoff treated or reused, or monitoring data, so the scale of the benefit cannot be measured from public sources.