The Resources and Infrastructure Ministry will ruin the fertile Burmarrad flood plain if it pursued plans to build a concrete storm water channel in the valley, according to farmers who till fields in the area.
The ministry is planning to dig a wide water passageway, lined with concrete blocks, to channel storm water into Salina Bay as fast as possible in a bid to prevent road flooding.
According to farmers, however, the solution proposed by the government will interfere with a natural flooding process that occurs each year, and ruin the Ghajn Rihana and Burmarrad plain which is "one of the few remaining fertile valleys in Malta".
Farmer Wigi Micallef explained yesterday that rainwater which inundates the plain in winter seeps into the soil balancing out the salty water found just two metres below the surface of the fields. Once an ancient harbour, the valley was created over the centuries by a natural accumulation of silt. It lies below sea level at various points.
"Inundation makes the valley fertile in summer, enabling us to grow vines, tomatoes, water melons and fruit trees," Mr Micallef explained. "Rainwater is manna from heaven. If it is channelled to the sea and the valley is drained fast, the soil will become so salty that it will be impossible for any crops to survive."
According to the farmers, road flooding could be solved if the tract between Ghajn Rihana and the Burmarrad football pitch is cleared up so that the water can be directed properly into the flood plain.
"As rain water flows inward, it loses its strength and seeps into the ground," the farmers said.
They have also sent their objections to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA), which still has to give its go-ahead to the ministry's plans, copying in Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, Labour leader Alfred Sant, Environment Minister George Pullicino and Resources Minister Ninu Zammit.
Alternattiva Demokratika chairman Harry Vassallo, who was at the press conference yesterday, said that the government should listen to the farmers who knew the area well and were offering better solutions.
Dr Vassallo said the ministry had submitted a plan which indicated that it would restore an existing water catchment channel when plans showed that the government would excavate the valley and build a canal with pre-cast concrete blocks.
The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage had raised the same objections as well as the Malta Archaeological Society, which said the project would disturb an archaeologically sensitive area.
Archaeological evidence has confirmed that a Roman harbour inside the valley has been covered by silt over the years. According to archaeologist Timmy Gambin, the settlements of San Pawl Milqi and catacombs in the area are proof of this.
"Core samples taken from the silt in the valley as well as old documents revealed that Burmarrad was used as a port until the Middle Ages," Dr Gambin had told The Times.
Following initial objections, the ministry said it had commissioned a study to analyse the impact of a storm water channel, adding that the ministry was determined to forge ahead with the project.