We have failed to take care of our freshwater resource, now on its last legs. Water rights call for this national property to be allocated to the most beneficial use, the common good. It is the Malta Resources Authority, not MEPA, under whose responsibility water allocation lies.
But, both quantity and quality of groundwater are regressing so fast that some are asking whether it is too late to save it. After years of exploitation, wasteful use, and lack of protection from contamination, we may be about to lose the precious fresh water aquifer underlying the Maltese Islands.
With regard to quality the situation in Gozo is particularly bad. How can we restore our aquifer and to what level? Is there an obtainable target we should be aiming toward, or have we reached the point where the aquifer could be written off as a lost cause?
A review of Malta's groundwater resources, commissioned by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations and the Malta Resources Authority (MRA) comes as a bucket of cold water to a nation sorely deficient in sustainable water management. A policy document aimed at kick-starting the discussion toward a framework for the sustainable management of groundwater was presented earlier this month.
Our freshwater supply, produced by rainwater and held in porous subterranean rock, is in imminent danger of being exhausted. The fragile aquifers are over-exploited while we depend increasingly on expensive and energy-intensive desalination.
The hidden costs of this are high. Now that the emissions from the power station are under closer scrutiny we have to be more careful.
Groundwater, which has been held as a lens of potable water in the aquifer for thousands of years could be lost forever if we choose to continue with the "do nothing" option
"Certainly, such a situation is not sustainable and requires immediate action," remarked Minister for Infrastructure and Resources Ninu Zammit at the opening of a consultation workshop on Malta's future water policy.
"Water can no longer be construed as a free good, the current system can no longer continue," said Minister Zammit, adding that subsidies will only be applied to alleviate economic burdens.
The plan is to tackle the groundwater crisis and strengthen the MRA in its role as regulator. The degree to which this can be successfully implemented will depend very much on the participation of the various users of water in industry, tourism and agriculture.
How can the pumping of water from the ground be controlled, as required by the Water Framework Directive, when an unknown number of illegal boreholes, often hidden in garages, are bleeding our natural underground resource to death?
Adding to the problem are the uncontrolled sale of water from private wells at a cheap price, and the failure of the voluntary agreement to stop industry contaminating the supply through discharges to the drains.
The service provided by bowsers continues unregulated, noted MRA chairman Joseph Tabone, who said that a future water policy must be practical, economical, reasonable and feasible for Malta.
There is commitment to meeting EU directives with maximum consent. Participation by stakeholders in each phase of the consultation is encouraged if we wish to design an environmental policy that can be successfully implemented.
"It is essential that the National Water Policy is accepted by Government and that legislation will follow as an outcome", said Mr Tabone. "There is not much point in spending money to commission a number of international experts, if we are unable to legislate and act on their advice," he added.
The National Groundwater Policy is to be founded on the best available knowledge in harmony with the EU water framework directive and modelled according to local circumstances.
Reuse of treated sewage
With the securing of funds for the setting up of three sewage treatment plants across the Maltese Islands, treated wastewater will be in good supply in the future. There is an exciting potential for the development of reusing treated sewage effluent. If properly treated it can be used in industry, agriculture and landscaping.
Engineer Antoine Riolo, chief executive officer at MRA, spoke of the possibility of production near the point of use without a dedicated distribution network. We may need to start thinking about much smaller treatment plants for local use in fields, avoiding use of first class water while allowing the same quantity of water to be reused several times over.
This is an option for some areas still not connected to the main sewer in Bahrija and Bidnija and some parts of Gozo. Industrial estates can also look into setting up treatment plants.
Developments in water technology could take us even further. The level of treatment in Singapore is so high that it can be used for drinking water. It may take us a while longer to consider using treated sewage effluent to recharge the aquifer.
The practice of returning used treated water to the aquifer is quite acceptable, providing that the water after treatment is of a better quality than the water already in the aquifer.
Water consultant Marco Cremona urged the MRA to identify pilot areas for recharging the aquifer with treated sewage effluent when the three new sewage treatment plants come on line.
At a lower level of treatment it is safe for use in agriculture. At present raw sewage is reaching the groundwater aquifer from animal farms and purposely broken pipes used to water crops. Dumping of seawater and other harmful substances into the sewers should be prevented.
Project consultant on groundwater Manuel Sapiano reported that the aquifer is nearly exhausted in the centre of the island, although there had been some recovery near Mriehel. This is not a very satisfactory situation as the recharge is from water pipe leakages, which WSC is striving to slow. Between four and five million cubic metres of rainwater could be potentially collected by having a well in each household.
Wise use of water and the proper exploitation of storm water were urged by Dr Riolo who added that change would not happen over-night. Attitudes, economic investment and social realities have been built around the existing situation, he said.
Dr Kerstin Mechlem of the FAO legal office told workshop participants how the EU Water Framework Directive aims to achieve a good status of water quality by 2015. Basic minimum measures are called for to control all water extraction as required by the directive.
The directive is described as an innovative, ambitious set of legally binding objectives and measures. Management of the resource based on a river basin approach includes the introduction of a water pricing policy to recover costs and the polluter pays principle.
The Maltese Islands, considered for this purpose to be one single river basin, are to undergo an analysis, which involves monitoring the chemical status of groundwater.
Another directive, specifically on groundwater, seeks to protect, enhance and restore groundwater with a better balance between extraction and recharge, while reducing and preventing pollution.
The aim is to prevent the discharge of certain toxic, persistent and bioaccumulative substances. A new groundwater directive is expected to further recommend special measures for the prevention and control of groundwater pollution offering a more comprehensive protection from pollution.
Member states are required to assess all activities concerning groundwater extraction and discharge, determining who (including the authorities themselves) is having an impact on the water sector while calculating the economic and environmental costs.
Declaring groundwater a natural resource
Commenting on the state of Malta's aquifers, Dr John Mangion, from the MRA's Water Directorate, said that the low quality of effluent produced at the Sant'Antnin recycling plant, some of which was being used for agriculture, was a matter of serious concern. This was the cumulative result, he said, of incorrect discharges from private practices.
Dr Mangion added that in certain areas our groundwater just wasn't there any more. He recommended that groundwater be declared a natural resource so that it could be managed as such, adding that the gaps in current legislation need to be harmonised with EU legislation.
Dr Jacob Burke, also from FAO, noted that agriculture has been responsible for the bulk extraction of very high quality groundwater around the world. Depletion of fresh water lenses in carbonate aquifers such as our own is not new on small islands. The aquifers of Qatar and some Caribbean islands are also under threat of extinction.
It was true of India and China as it was of Malta, that agricultural pollution was often overlooked. Rural lifestyles were important but municipal water use with higher returns was rapidly increasing, leading to land conversion away from agriculture.
Dr Burke considered possible future scenarios for Maltese agriculture and the implications in terms of water resources. "We can certainly expect polluting agriculture to be phased out" he commented.
Reform of the Common Agricultural Policy is aimed at delinking water subsidies from production so that rural livelihoods can still be subsidised in one form or another. There are distortions as when the pumping of water leading to aquifer depletion is being done with subsidised energy.
Good water management includes the promotion of high value crops under precise irrigation. Aromatic plants do not require much water and can withstand irrigation by water of a lower quality.
Water Services Corporation (WSC) Chief Executive Officer Anthony Rizzo questioned the formula for estimating water use on the amount of land, when it was well known that illegal operators were supplementing their income by pumping water to fill bowsers supplying industry and hotels as well as private swimming pools.
The project consultant on water demand, Engineer Kevin Gatt, said that the legal notices on allowable concentrations in sewage needed to be enforced. Since the WSC merged with the Drainage Depart-ment the corporation will now have to look at both water and sewage tariffs. In some countries, it was pointed, out the tariff for discharging sewage was even higher than for water supply, encouraging treatment and reuse of water.
Speaking on the economic considerations of markets for water in the Maltese Islands, project consultant on economics Carmen Delia stressed the importance of economic and social considerations when setting tariffs, applying the balanced budget method to derive the unit cost of water. Ms Delia advised that the regulator should first meter extraction points while setting limits for quality. If the limits are passed then extraction should be stopped.
The procedure for dealing with infringements, as explained by legal consultant Dr Simone Borg, is to turn to the EU Commission only after all attempts to remedy the situation are exhausted in the local courts. The case would then be verified by DG Environment and assessed by the commission, which sets a date by which the infringement must be rectified.
Dr Borg noted the presence of some gaps in the existing legislation regulating water, which may call for emergency measures. If there is a discrepancy then the acquis wins out over national law. Our lack of capacity-building leads to freeloaders. If rules are not being enforced even those who are law-abiding often decide to flout the law.
In the past two years more laws on water quality have been published than ever before. Certain administrative practices may have to be reviewed.
Dr Wulf Klohn, FAO water policy consultant, observed that water policy cannot stand alone and needs to be co-ordinated with entities such as agriculture, industry and environmental policy for an integrated view. He also noted the need to agree on a dataset on which conclusions could be based.
1.5 billion cubic metre supply at risk
A business-as-usual scenario would mean people will keep pumping and allocating water without considering the cost of eventual aquifer depletion. This was the case particularly for the sea level aquifer, which yields about 80 per cent of all the groundwater we extract. Uncontrolled borehole extraction has resulted in damage to the resource, severely risking the total wiping out of 1.5 billion cubic metres freshwater storage capacity.
It would be very difficult, said Dr Klohn, to re-establish such a big reservoir underground on this island, adding that the time had come to commit the aquifer to sustainable use. The upper layers of water known as perched aquifers are smaller at an estimated 10 million cubic metres but infiltrated with toxic substances and over-pumped.
The springs of the Rabat, Dingli, Mgarr and Mellieha perched aquifers have been discontinued from the public supply due to the high level of nitrates. Animal farming, use of manure and artificial fertiliser on fields and leakages in the public sewers are to blame.
In a dry year the recharge of groundwater by rainwater can be as low as 16 million cubic metres. On average the renewable groundwater per inhabitant is among the lowest in the world at 40 cubic metres per year.
Water security should be considered an important part of the policy. The strategic importance of groundwater is evident as a contingency in the event of an oil spill or a protracted power outage bringing the desalination plants to a halt.
The domestic sector in this country is a major user. Essential uses such as drinking and cooking take up only five per cent of the supply to homes. Infiltration of salt water into sewers making the water unusable for any other purpose must be looked at. Hotels, which use seawater for the flushing of toilets, are adding to the problem.
The data showed an alarming increase of water contamination, although the severe degrading situation may vary from one part of the islands to another. Further migration of pollutants into groundwater had to be stopped through good land use policy related to slaughterhouses and landfills. The polluter should pay, but first attention has to be given to prevention through a more powerful water authority showing better vigilance.
The level of potable water still "unaccounted for" continues to be high despite efforts by the WSC to reduce it. Reducing demand by agriculture can be encouraged by the use of drip irrigation and other technologies for more accurate application of water to fields.
Pre-accession adviser George Clapton pointed out that setting a common path was dependent on significantly changing the behaviour of all sectors of the population including government establishments, and seeing that people understand the whole cycle of what is to be achieved.
The WSC says it does not have the resources to educate and engage the population at large and is restricted to putting out information via the Website and mailshots.
The MRA, with a staff of only 17, has the power to enforce but prefers to reach an understanding with other enforcement bodies while considering how to increase its capacity to act as enforcer.
The challenge will be to implement national laws and get institutions to comply with EU requirements to meet the long-term objective of good water status for social, economic and environmental development.
The MRA must look at how to reduce unauthorised ground water extraction while allocating extraction rights to the various sectors according to their long term plans for sustainable water use.
The workshop has been the first phase in the consultation process, which should lead to a sustainable, politically feasible and workable water policy for Malta. Consulta-tion on Malta's water policy for the future will continue during the coming months.
Comments on the water policy must reach MRA (enquiry@ mra.org.mt) by April 12.