A Water Quality Monitoring Network was developed in the Port of Cartagena, one of the Major Spanish
Ports, in order to improve its Environmental Management System.
The physical-chemical parameters and biological indicators were established according to the WFD (Water
Framework Directive 2000/60/EC), these guidelines, to assess the current status of the water body and to
establish the criteria to design the monitoring network necessary for the evaluation of its evolution.
Twenty two stations were sampled at different depths and 264 samples were taken. A statistical analysis
was applied to these samples in order to discriminate relevant parameters, as well as the status of the
Control stations and the frequency of sampling to conduct the design with objective criteria of the monitoring
network