Valletta council in bid to stop road flooding

The Valletta local council is trying to remedy a flooding problem in Old Bakery Street and has filed an application with Mepa to install a new culvert system in parts of the capital city.

The council is also in touch with the Malta Transport Authority (ADT) to see whether recent road works in Old Bakery Street were done according to specifications, mayor Paul Borg Olivier said yesterday.

Dr Borg Olivier was contacted following complaints by the parish priest of St Augustine's church, Fr Saviour Grima, who said a World War II shelter in Valletta was in danger of being irreparably damaged by rain water seeping in. Fr Grima said the lack of proper water culverts and the recent laying of tarmac in Old Bakery Street had aggravated matters.

Dr Borg Olivier said the council was exerting pressure on the government to fund the works as the council did not have the necessary Lm50,000 to carry them out. "But the council has filed the application so that the bureaucratic hurdles would be overcome and work could start as soon as the money is available," he explained.

The mayor said the council felt justified in making a claim for the funds because the excessive run-off water in Old Bakery Street was a result of a bad decision by the central government between 1996 and 1998, when Republic Street was paved and culverts blocked. Consequently, the run-off water from Republic Street flows down to Old Bakery Street.

Dr Borg Olivier said that when resurfacing works were carried out recently in the latter street, the council had warned the ADT not to exacerbate the problem of run-off water.

"It is not just the wartime shelter that has a problem with flooding but also people's cellars and basements," the mayor said.

"We are now working with the ADT to ensure that the contractor did the job according to specifications."

Fr Grima said machinery had evidently burst the main water pipe as water was seeping into the rock-hewn shelter from the walls.

Valletta Rehabilitation Committee chairman Ray Bondin said the wartime shelter was an important part of Malta's heritage and had to be preserved both because of the quality of its workmanship and of its layout.

He said he supported Fr Grima in his endeavours to save the relic.