Water crisis

There comes a point in life when we're compelled to heed the writing on the wall, stand up and cry out "enough is enough - we must rise to the challenge, or suffer the consequences".

The water situation has reached such a crisis point, and if we don't act now, the consequences we face are grim.

Put starkly, Malta's ground water table is on its last leg. We've already run out of good ground water to drink. Whatever we pump up is really salty brackish water that has to be treated to be rendered potable. Reverse osmosis has, for the last few decades, been our salvation. But it has given us a rather false sense of salvation.

The cost of producing one cubic metre of water by reverse osmosis is unsustainable - both financially and environmentally. So much so, that the government has never dared ask us consumers to directly pay even half what it costs to produce it.

Instead, it makes us pay indirectly for it, through ever increasing taxes. Reverse osmosis also consumes a lot of energy - which generates more air pollution to poison us and aggravate climate change. We can neither afford the heavy taxation nor the destructive climate change.

The current situation is not only unsustainable but also deeply insulting to citizens. The authorities spend our tax money on media campaigns urging us to turn off the tap while brushing our teeth to save a few litres of water, but then take no real action to stop illegal private extractors from extracting and selling millions of litres a year.

Maybe up to now all of us hoped that we can turn a blind eye to this abuse and life will still go on. But the winter that has never come and the drought of January 2007 clearly show that we can no longer live this hopeful myth.

Sure, we must all do our bit, but it is the government that needs to lead the way. To do so, it needs to act on three related fronts. It must formulate and start implementing a sustainable national water policy. It must seriously clamp down on the illegal extraction of ground water. Thirdly, it must better regulate the legal extraction of ground water to safeguard the nation's environmental and financial interests.

And all along, the government must be accountable to the people on the water situation. For starters, by answering questions.

I was horrified to read in The Times of February 9 that the Malta Resources Authority, the entity responsible for water regulation has failed to answer questions over water extraction despite repeated reminders. Where is the government's accountability and transparency - a cornerstone of democratic society?

Well, we'll find out by setting a public challenge to the MRA and the government: Will they reply to some fundamental questions on water regulation, within two weeks from today? How many water boreholes are registered with the MRA or other entity?

How many illegal boreholes are estimated to be in operation?

How many of the private water suppliers advertised in the Yellow Pages directory are registered with the MRA and the Public Health Department?

Does the MRA issue permits for the drilling of boreholes, and the extraction and selling of water? If yes, how much does the MRA charge for such a permit?

Is the legally extracted water being metered? And if so, are extractors required to pay according to the amount of water extracted?

When a permit for water extraction is issued, do the authorities specify the maximum permissible amount of water that borehole extractors may extract on a periodic basis? Or can you extract as much as you want if you have a permit for a borehole?

How many persons does the MRA employ specifically to inspect registered boreholes and investigate potential illegal water extraction?

When will the government adopt a national water policy?

If the MRA cannot answer any of the questions posed, then Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, should ensure that somebody within the government gives the public real answers in real time.

The countdown is on - to save our water supply and bring more accountability to governance.