Efforts to contain damage at Cirkewwa diving site

A number of divers have complained after visibility at Cirkewwa, one of the prime dive sites in Malta, was impaired by silt, the Professional Diving Schools Association said.

The turbidity in the water was caused by works at the extension of the breakwater, which used hard stone for land reclamation.

At the beginning of May, the intensity of silt in the water was such that a number of foreign divers asked to have their money refunded, a spokesman for one of the diving schools said.

"If we were to be asked by God to describe the ideal dive site - suitable for both novices and experienced divers - we would ask him to replicate Cirkewwa," Agnes Upton, representing the association, noted.

Work on the Cirkewwa quay started in July 2000. The need to build new all-weather berthing facilities is long overdue: in 1999 about 600 ferry trips were cancelled or else diverted to Sa Maison in Pietà because of rough weather.

The developer is the Malta Maritime Authority and the contractor is Polidano.

However, MMA is adamant it is doing all it can to reduce any problems.

The then Planning Authority had bound the MMA to a number of conditions to reduce factors such as the dispersal of fine dust, diesel and oil spillage which could negatively affect marine life, particularly sea grass meadows, the membranes at the reverse osmosis plant that supplied water to the north of Malta and the beach facilities at the Paradise Bay Hotel.

When contacted, Oscar Borg, the MMA's chief executive officer, said the authority had stuck to the conditions imposed by the PA, the precursor of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority.

Although the conditions by Mepa apply directly to the contractor, it is ultimately the MMA that forks out money to cover the cost of compliance. For example, hard stone was used, rather than limestone, because hard stone causes less silt.

"The hard stones used are 'washed' before being dumped in the sea for land reclamation and a silt curtain costing Lm100,000 was put into place to restrict the silt to as small an area as possible.

"Moreover, the MMA, through the contractor, bought two sensors to monitor the level of silt in the water. This equipment is monitored by third parties approved by Mepa," Mr Borg explained.

An environment monitoring team at Cirkewwa keeps officials at Mepa posted about the level of turbidity and ensures that the inert material is "washed" before it is used for reclamation.

One of the sensors has had to be repaired five times, after it was damaged by the heavy seas, MMA project manager Joseph Roger Sammut said.

The silt curtain could not withstand the turbulent currents that develop during the winter months with the result that the curtain was heavily damaged.

"So far as we are aware there is no silt curtain that can be used in inclement seas. The contractor has bought another silt curtain which will be paid for by the MMA", Mr Borg pointed out.

"The first model of the new breakwater was a caisson type that would have saved us a lot of problems including the creation of silt but simulation trials indicated that the quay would suffer heavy damage by the repeated pounding of waves.

"Instead, the use of the accropods (which resemble giant anchors and absorb the wave energy) would allow the ferries to berth in calmer waters," added Mr Borg.

The MMA commissioned aerial photography in order to keep tabs of the situation.

In February of this year, the Professional Diving Schools Association applied to Mepa to scuttle the trawler Hannibal at Cirkewwa to create another artificial reef. The association has already scuttled another boat, the Rozi, at Cirkewwa.

The Mepa has yet to decide on the Hannibal application.

"The Environment Protection Directorate is presently assessing this proposal, taking into account Malta's international obligations and local polices and regulations," a Mepa spokesman said.

The MMA is planning to set up a marine park at Cirkewwa.